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AUX  MORTS 


uited  hy  Waldn  Pierce 


Memorial  Volume  of  the 
American  Field  Service  in  France 


"  Friends  of  France 
1914-1917 


Edited  by 
JAMES  W.  D.  SEYMOUR 

With  an  Introduction  by    ^ 
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  A.  PIATT  ANDREW 


AMERICAN  FIELD  SERVICE 

50  STATE  STREET,  BOSTON 
I92I 


Copyright,  1921,  American  Field  Service 
A II  rights  reserzied 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE 

In  this  volume  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  catch  in 
short  biographies  the  true  spirit  of  those  who  volunteered 
to  serve  with  the  Field  Service  in  France  and  died  for  our 
Cause.  The  intent  has  not  been  to  eulogize  their  hero- 
isms nor  dilate  upon  their  great  achievement,  but  to 
sketch  these  men's  lives,  to  touch  on  their  ideals  and  be- 
liefs, to  express  a  little  of  their  dreams.  The  work  has 
been  undertaken  with  the  deeply-felt,  sincere  wish  to  pay 
deserved  tribute  to  the  memory  of  their  living  and  ser- 
vice, and  to  the  inspiration  of  their  death. 

The  plan  was  formulated  by  the  Chief  of  the  Field  Ser- 
vice in  France,  A.  Piatt  Andrew,  with  the  idea  that  each 
story,  while  complete  in  itself,  should  be  part  of  a  whole 
which  would  set  forth  the  purpose  and  vigour  of  thought 
that  animated  all  of  the  volunteers.  It  was  carried  out 
in  detail  by  a  group  of  Field  Service  men  who  made  every 
effort  to  put  upon  paper  the  real  characters  of  the  men  of 
whom  they  wrote.  In  all  cases  the  families  were  con- 
sulted, and,  except  for  the  exigencies  of  space  on  some 
occasions,  their  wishes  were  followed  and  their  sugges- 
tions carried  out.  Always  they  rendered  every  aid  in 
their  power,  furnishing  statistics,  photographs,  personal 
correspondence,  details  of  home  and  school  life,  and  anec- 
dotes which  bring  to  life  again  youthful  days  and  experi- 
ences wherein  were  often  foreshadowed  the  idealisms  of 
the  future.  All  this  made  the  task  a  very  personal  and 
moving  one,  and  impressed  on  each  biographer  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  stories  thus  gathered  together  —  not 
only  individually,  but  forming,  in  the  mass,  a  striking 
estimate  of  the  temper  of  the  volunteers.  It  made  the 
writing  a  thing  of  heart  as  well  as  hand.  The  editorial 
staff  consisted  of  Preston  Lockwood,  S.  S.  U.  3,  Jerome 
Preston,  S.  S.  U.  15,  Arthur  J.  Putnam,  S.  S.  U.  18,  and 
Frank  J.  Taylor,  S.  S.  U.  10,  each  of  whom  strove  to  see 
all  angles  of  each  situation  and  of  each  man's  interests. 
Stories  also  have  been  graciously  contributed  by  Henry 

iii 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE 


Sydnor  Harrison,  S.  S.  U.  i,  J.  Paulding  Brown,  S.  S.  U. 
I,  and  Harold  B.  Willis,  S.  S.  U.  2.  Gratitude  is  owing 
to  the  colleges  of  the  men  in  many  cases  for  precise  data 
and  essential  facts.  Many  comrades,  likewise,  were 
called  upon  for  help,  as  were  the  families,  and  all  have 
assisted  in  every  possible  way,  correcting  our  errors  and 
suggesting  chances  for  improvement. 

The  frontispiece  is  a  reproduction  of  the  painting  by 
Waldo  Peirce,  S.  S.  U.  3,  in  commemoration  of  the  men 
whose  stories  are  here  told.  To  him  as  well  as  to  all 
those  who  labored  faithfully  in  sending  material,  who 
advised,  and  criticised,  and  wrote,  but  most  of  all  to 
Colonel  Andrew,  with  his  constant  enthusiasm  and  ju- 
dicial supervision,  wishing  it  to  be,  above  all  a  tribute  of 
appreciation  from  the  Field  Service  to  its  members  who 
are  gone,  the  existence  of  the  book  is  due.  To  them, 
everyone,  go  very  sincere  thanks. 

THE   EDITOR. 


IV 


CONTENTS 


Frontispiece,  —  "  Aux  Morts, 
Editor's  Preface     . 
Introduction,  A.  Piatt  Andrew 
Richard  Nelville  Hall  . 
Edward  Joseph  Kelley   . 
Edward  Carter  Sortwell 
Howard  Burchard  Lines 
Addison  Leech  Bliss 
James  Rogers  McConnell 
Henry  Eglinton  Montgomery 
Albert  Augustus  Porter 
Leif  Norman  Barclay 
Benjamin  Russell  Woodworth 
Paul  Gannett  Osborn     . 
Arthur  Myers 
George  Frederick  Norton 
Harmon  Bushnell  Craig 
James  Wilson  Gailey 
Perley  Raymond  Hamilton 
John  Verplanck  Newlin. 
Paul  Cody  Bentley 
Douglas  MacMonagle    . 
Gerald  Colman  King 
Henry  Harrison  Cumings,  3d 
Henry  Brewster  Palmer 
Eric  Anderson  Fowler   . 
Robert  Douglas  Meacham 
Alden  Davison 
Gordon  Stewart     . 
Ernest  Hunnewell  Leach 
Jack  Morris  Wright 
Philip  Phillips  Benney  . 
Charles  Alexander  Hopkins 
Newberry  Holbrook 
William  Jewell  Whyte  . 
Percy  Leo  Avard     . 


Painted  by  Waldo  Peirce 


Suckley 


111 
ix 
1 
3 
5 
7 
9 
11 
13 
15 
17 
19 
21 
23 
25 
27 
29 
31 
33 
35 
37 
39 
41 
43 
45 
47 
49 
51 
53 
55 
57 
59 
61 
63 
65 


CONTENTS 


Henry  Howard  Houston  Woodward 

Carlos  Willard  Baer 

Schuyler  Lee 

Grand viLLE  LeMoyne  Sargeant 

Theodore  Raymond  Frutiger  . 

Charles  Vivian  DuBouchet     . 

Roger  Sherman  Dix,  Junior    . 

William  Becker  Hagan  . 

William  Key  Bond  Emerson,  Junior 

Richard  Ashley  Blodgett 

Ernest  Armand  Giroux  . 

Paul  Borda  Kurtz  . 

Richard  Stevens  Conover,  2d 

Coleman  Tileston  Clark 

Roger  Marie  Louis  Balbiani 

Alan  Hammond  Nichols  . 

Donald  Asa  Bigelow 

Arthur  Bluethenthal     . 

Gordon  Kenneth  Mackenzie 

Frank  Leaman  Baylies    . 

Edward  Trafton  Hathaway  . 

Warren  Tucker  Hobbs 

Goodwin  Warner    . 

George  Waite  Goodwin 

Randolph  Rogers    . 

John  Ralston  Graham 

Carleton  Burr  . 

Stuart  Mitchell  Stephen  Tyson 

Stuart  Carkener,  2d 

Malcolm  Troop  Robertson 

Walter  Bernard  Miller 

Clayton  Carey  Ellis 

Robert  Harris  Barker    . 

Stanley  Hill  .... 

Alexander  Bern  Bruce  . 

Henry  Howard  Houston,  2d    . 

Harry  Worthington  Craig 

Charles  Henry  Fiske,  3d 


67 

69 

71 

73 

75 

77 

79 

81 

83 

85 

87 

89 

91 

93 

95 

97 

99 

101 

103 

105 

107 

109 

111 

113 

115 

117 

119 

121 

123 

125 

127 

129 

131 

133 

135 

137 

139 

141 


VI 


CONTENTS 


Greayer  Clover 
William  Armstrong  Elliott 
Walter  Laidlaw  Same  rook 
Warren  Thompson  Kent  . 
Horace  Baker  Form  an,  3d 
Harold  Holden  Sayre     . 
Charles  Patrick  Anderson 
Benjamin  Howell  Burton,  Junior 
William  Henry  Taylor,  Junior 
Fred  A.  Hannah 
Leon  Hamlink  Buckler  . 
Arthur  Clifford  Kimber 
Philip  Newbold  Rhinelander 
George  Eaton  Dresser  . 
Stafford  Leighton  Brown 
John  Howell  Westcott,  Junior 
Albert  Frank  Gilmore    . 
Waller  Lisle  Harrison,  Junior 
Tingle  Woods  Culbertson 
Paul  Warren  Lindsley   . 
Frederic  Moore  Forbush 
Kenneth  Armour  Bailey 
William  Noble  Wallace 
William  Clarkson  Potter 
Leon  Henton  Donahue    . 
George  Merrick  Hollister     . 
Gilbert  Robertson  Glorieux 
Merrill  Manning  Benson 
Wilbur  LeRoy  Boyer 
Danforth  Brooks  Ferguson    . 
Howard  Crosby  Humason 
OsRic  Mills  Watkins 
Charles  Bacon 

George  Lane  Edwards,  Junior 
Philip  Winsor 
Meredith  Loveland  Dowd 
Richard  Varian  Banks  . . 
James  Dudley  Beane 


143 
145 
147 
149 
151 
153 
155 
157 
159 
161 
163 
165 
167 
169 
171 
173 
175 
177 
179 
181 
183 
185 
187 
189 
191 
193 
195 
197 
199 
201 
203 
205 
207 
209 
211 
213 
215 
217 


Vll 


CONTENTS 


Stevenson  Paul  Lewis     . 

Chester  Robinson  Tutein 

Arthur  Joseph  Brickley 

Galbraith  Ward 

George  Welles  Root 

Arthur  Richmond  Taber 

Charles  James  Freeborn 

Charles  Benjamin  Kendall 

Richard  Mather  Jopling 

Stephen  Raymond  Dresser 

Edward  Ilsley  Tinkham 

James  Snodgrass  Brown  . 

Edward  Newell  Ware,  Junior 

Hugo  Wing  Fales  . . 

Kramer  Core  Tabler 

Frank  Hopkins,  Junior    . 

Jerry  Thomas  Illich 

Harold  Vincent  Aupperle 

Alphabetical  Index  with  Places  of  Burial 


219 
221 
223 
225 
227 
229 
231 
233 
235 
237 
239 
241 
243 
245 
247 
249 
251 
253 
257 


INTRODUCTION 

The  vision  which  illumined  the  world  three  years  ago 
has  paled  with  the  light  of  common  day.  The  mon- 
strous epoch  in  which  we  of  the  old  volunteer  Field  Ser- 
vice played  a  very  little  part  now  looms  like  a  distant 
mountain  range  upon  the  horizon.  It  seems  almost  as 
remote  to  us  who  were  participants,  as  it  will  seem  to 
those  who  contemplate  it  generations  hence.  Gone  are 
the  jflash  and  thunder  of  battle,  and  gone  also  is  the  will- 
ing acceptance  of  hardship  and  effort  and  sacrifice  in  a 
common  cause.  Gone  are  the  grim  peril  and  the  an- 
guish, and  gone  likewise  is  the  readiness  with  which  men 
did  and  dared  and  died,  when  called,  for  noble  ends. 
Though  millions  risked  everything  only  three  years  ago 
that  others  might  live  in  freedom  and  that  justice  might 
prevail,  only  dreamers,  it  seems  today,  would  jeopardize 
their  lives  for  such  immaterial  and  disinterested  aims. 
We  need  not  seek  the  reasons  for  this  change.  Whatever 
they  may  be,  the  fact  is  all  too  manifest. 

Is  it  not  possible  to  rescue  from  extinction  some  traces 
of  the  spirit  which  exalted  those  Great  Days  ?  Can  we 
not  revive  an  echo  of  that  war-time  faith  which  made  it 
worth  our  while  to  strive  and  give  and  suffer  for  some- 
thing beyond  ourselves  and  those  immediately  about  us  ? 
Must  the  fearful  price  of  the  victory  be  wasted,  or  may 
we  perhaps  hold  fast  some  fragments  of  the  vision  which 
made  that  victory  possible  ?  Can  we  not  at  least  keep 
fresh  the  memory  of  what  was  great  and  beautiful  during 
those  epic  years,  and  hand  it  on  to  those  who  never  knew 
them? 

In  answer  to  such  questioning,  and  with  such  purpose 
as  it  indicates,  this  book  has  been  composed.  It  is  not 
alone  a  backward  glance  upon  cherished  personalities, 
closely  associated  with  us  in  the  war,  which  in  the  melan- 
choly course  of  that  catastrophe  were  blotted  out.  It  is 
not  merely  a  tribute  to  those  tenderly  regretted  com- 
panions of  romantic  and  tragic  hours  in  France.     It  is 

ix 


INTRODUCTION 


all  this ;  but  it  is  intended  to  be  something  more.  We 
have  hope  that  the  stories  of  what  these  young  Ameri- 
cans did  and  gave  may  help  to  perpetuate  the  vision 
which  their  brief  lives  reflected.  The  pages  that  follow, 
drawn  from  the  little  circle  of  our  comrades'  lives,  por- 
tray the  exalted  spirit  which  among  the  Allied  peoples 
translated  the  war  into  a  religion  and  made  its  battles  a 
crusade.  They  show  the  faith  which  inspired  those 
peoples  and  which,  even  in  the  darkest  hours  of  German 
ascendancy,  spurred  them,  with  certainty  of  ultimate 
success,  to  any  sacrifice, —  a  faith  in  the  ineluctable 
final  triumph  of  justice  and  right.  In  commemorating 
these  men,  we  hope  to  keep  alive  some  embers  of  the 
spirit  and  the  faith  with  which  their  lives  were  conse- 
crated. 

There  is  another  purpose  which  was  fundamental  with 
the  old  Field  Service,  and  which  every  one  of  these  men 
would  have  hoped  to  see  continued, —  the  furthering  of 
friendship  and  understanding  with  the  people  of  France. 
The  men  whose  life  stories  are  here  recounted  went  as 
volunteers  to  France,  most  of  them  many  months  before 
our  government  had  ceased  to  be  neutral,  all  of  them 
before  an  American  Army  had  been  sent  there.  They 
went  to  serve  with  the  Armies  of  France.  The  lives  of 
some  of  them  had  already  terminated  in  active  service 
with  those  armies  a  year  or  more  before  our  government 
had  decided  to  join  hands  with  France.  Not  one  of 
these  men  but  had  formed  warm  comradeship  with  the 
French  soldiers  whose  hardships  and  gaieties  they 
shared,  whether  plodding  through  the  wintry  mud  of 
bleak,  war-ridden  villages,  resting  by  dusty  roadsides 
under  the  summer  sun,  or  waiting  by  night  in  the  fetid 
squalor  of  black  dugouts.  Not  one  who  had  not  grown 
to  regard  these  soldiers, —  their  blue-coated  comrades, — 
with  affection  and  more  —  with  something  akin  to 
reverence.  Not  one  who  did  not  become  attached  to 
France  as  to  no  other  country  save  his  own.  Of  this 
their  letters  and  their  diaries  give  abundantly  the  proof. 


INTRODUCTION 


How  then  could  we  better  commemorate  these  men  than 
by  encouraging  through  future  generations  that  friend- 
ship and  understanding  between  the  youth  of  the  two 
countries  which  so  marked  their  relations  in  old  Field 
Service  days,  and  which  so  imbued  their  lives  and  fateful 
destinies?  What  could  be  more  fitting  than  that 
through  all  the  years  to  come  young  Americans  should  be 
stimulated  to  go  to  France,  to  explore  the  fountains  of 
her  learning,  and  to  bring  back  sympathetic  comprehen- 
sion of  her  traditions  and  her  traits,  and  that  young  men 
of  France  should  reciprocally  be  enabled  to  study  here 
our  ways  of  thinking  ? 

With  this  idea  in  mind,  a  plan  has  been  undertaken 
which,  when  it  succeeds,  will  provide  in  perpetuity  an 
annual  fellowship  in  memory  of  each  and  every  one  of 
these  men,  either  to  send  an  American  student  to  France, 
or  to  bring  a  French  student  here.  Thus  will  the  fra- 
ternity of  war  days  be  cherished  and  kept  alive  for 
posterity.  Successive  generations  of  French  and  Amer- 
ican youth  will  forever  go  back  and  forth  between  the 
two  countries,  fostering  mutual  comprehension  and 
mutual  sympathy,  just  as  these  men  were  glad  to  do. 
If  endowments  for  these  fellowships  can  be  found,  they 
will  build  a  noble  and  enduring  monument  to  the  hun- 
dred and  twenty-seven  comrades  who  gave  all  that  they 
were  and  all  that  they  might  ever  have  hoped  to  be  to 
the  common  cause  of  America  and  France.  They  will 
help  to  make  perpetual  the  spirit  in  which  these  men  gave 
their  lives. 

If  there  is  anything  in  this  volume  to  awaken  solemn 
and  mournful  thought,  it  must  not  be  regret  for  lives 
that  have  ended,  and  for  youths  that  are  gone.  The 
book  will  have  failed  of  its  essential  purpose  if  the  im- 
pression that  it  conveys,  so  far  as  these  young  men  are 
concerned,  is  one  of  blighted  hopes,  or  loss,  or  unful- 
fillment.  It  is  really  the  story  of  dreams  that  have 
come  true,  of  careers  that  have  been  completed  without 
disappointment,  without  retrogression,  without  regret, 

xi 


INTRODUCTION 


of  lives  that  have  counted  as  much  as  individual  lives 
may  count,  in  the  final  reckoning.  These  men  had  the 
fortune  to  depart  gloriously  at  the  pinnacle  of  their 
career.  They  achieved  the  summit,  and  facing  eternity 
in  the  morning  of  their  lives  gallantly  offered  life's  noon- 
time and  its  evening  upon  the  altar  of  their  country. 
They  ''bartered  dull  age  for  immortality." 

"  They  shall  not  grow  old,  as  we  that  are  left  grow  old ; 
Age  shall  not  weary  them,  nor  the  years  condemn." 

And  we  who  are  left,  their  erstwhile  comrades  of  great 
days  and  nights  in  France,  shall  think  of  them  "at  the 
going  down  of  the  sun,  and  in  the  morning,"  and  we 
shall  think  of  them  as  always  young  and  always  happy. 
For  us  they  can  not  alter.  They  are  beyond  all  sorry 
chance  of  change. 

I  know  no  words  that  more  perfectly  express  how  we 
shall  remember  them,  as  time  and  life  speed  by,  than 
those  of  the  sonnet  written  many  years  ago  by  a  great 
American,  bravely  facing  the  loss  of  his  son. 

"At  eve  when  the  brief  wintry  day  is  sped, 

I  muse  beside  my  fire's  faint-flickering  glare  — 
Conscious  of  wrinkling  face  and  whitening  hair  — 

Of  those  who,  dying  young,  inherited 

The  immortal  youthfulness  of  the  early  dead. 
I  think  of  Raphael's  grand-seigneurial  air ; 
Of  Shelley  and  Keats,  with  laurels  fresh  and  fair 

Shining  unwithered  on  each  sacred  head ; 

And  soldier  boys  who  snatched  death's  starry  prize, 
With  sweet  life  radiant  in  their  fearless  eyes. 
The  dreams  of  love  upon  their  beardless  lips. 

Bartering  dull  age  for  immortality ; 

Their  memories  hold  in  death's  unyielding  fee 
The  youth  that  thrilled  them  to  the  finger-tips."  * 


A.  Piatt  Andrew 


May,  IQ2I.     Gloucester,  Mass 
*  Thanatos  Athanatos,  by  John  Hay. 


xn 


of  the 

'American  Field  Service 
in  France 


R.  N.  H. 

'As  for  me,  I  will  behold  thy  face  in  righteousness; 
I  will  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake,  with  thy  likeness." 

Psalm  17  :  15 


Fine  youth!     That  sees  the  vision  like  a  star 
Eternal  in  the  heavens;  nor  earth  can  hide 
Nor  time  can  dim  it.     Evermore  content 
With  Life  that  holds  it,  or  with  solemn  Death 
That  tells  its  secret.     Evermore  content. 

When  he  went  forth  with  earnest  modesty 
To  do  his  best  for  what  he  saw  was  best, 
He  made  no  claim  on  Fate  for  life  or  death, 
Or  joy,  or  glory,  onlj'^  seeing  clear 
The  vision  of  man's  service  for  his  kind, 
Whence  only  life  is  possible,  and  moves 
Up  to  the  heights  of  undespairing  love. 

And  we,  who  follow  him  with  yearning  thought, 
Need  not  to  question  for  his  peace  and  joy 
Who  wakens  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
And  with  his  likeness  will  be  satisfied. 

Great  youth!     Who  sees  his  vision  face  to  face. 


RICHARD  NELVILLE  HALL 

More  perhaps  than  in  that  of  any  other  there  exists  in  the 
life  and  achievement  of  Richard  Nelville  Hall  a  fineness 
and  a  poignant  glory  of  self-sacrifice.  ''  What  better  ideal 
can  we  have?"  writes  an  associate  in  the  Field  Service, 
**  A  strong  spirit  drawing  on  a  frail  body  to  unselfish  work 
for  others." 

In  191 5,  when  the  Middle  West  felt  only  vaguely  the 
throbbing  of  the  Great  War,  "  Dick"  showed  his  spirit 
by  going  eagerly  along  the  uncertain  path  of  service.  His 
death  brought  sharply  home  to  the  whole  country  the 
bitter  reality  of  the  conflict  and  the  necessity  of  having  a 
share  in  it.  Ambassador  Jusserand  wrote  Dick's  parents  : 
'*  More  has  been  accomplished  by  your  son,  in  the  brief 
space  allotted  to  him,  than  can  be  the  fate  of  millions  who 
lead  long,  plain,  ordinary  lives." 

As  a  small  boy  he  said  to  his  mother,  after  much  think- 
ing :  "  It  seems  to  me  it's  awfully  foolish  to  let  yourself  get 
to  wanting  something  you  know  you  can't  have."  And 
this  philosophy  of  his  own  devising  was  a  guide  to  his  life. 
For  while  "  he  had  a  good  deal  to  make  him  happy,"  yet 
he  was  happier  in  living  than  many  a  boy  who  had  much 
more.  On  November  11,  191 5,  Dick  wrote  from  France: 
"It  is  rather  nice  to  know  I  can  be  happy  in  the  face  of 
some  hard  and  dirty  work,  even  with  privations.    I  am 

extremely  happy I  am  not  talking  or  thinking 

about  Christmas.   I  don't  dare." 

At  Michigan  the  words  of  a  friend,  who  feels  himself  "  a 
better  man  for  having  known  Dick, "^typify  the  esteem  in 
which  Richard  Hall  was  held.  His  constitution  was  not, 
however,  robust,  and  after  a  year  at  AnnjArbor,  he  sought 
the  invigorating  open-air  life  afforded  by  Dartmouth.  Dr. 
Nichols,  the  president,  wrote  his  parents  :  "  Certainly  not 
in  recent  years  has  a  young  man  of  my  acquaintance  given 
so   fine   an   example  of  what  a  young  man   ought   to 

do His  memory  will  be  cherished  through  many 

college  generations."    He  completed  hisf college  work^a 


RICHARD  NELVILLE  HALL 


month  early  and  sailed  for  France  on  June  5,  1915.  *'  Full 

of  enthusiasm,  tenderness,  and  quiet  power We 

knew,    when    he    went,    that    a    soldier    indeed    had 
gone " 

Lovering  Hill,  leader  of  Section  Three  in  Alsace  said  that 
Dick  became  known  as  its  "  most  refined,  likeable,  and 
conscientious*'  member,  "  immediately  liked  by  the  French 
people  for  his  sympathy,  and  respected  by  the  ambulance 
men  for  his  efficient  work."  "The  ugly  facts  of  war  in 
some  mysterious  way  were  consecrating  him  to  the  highest 
ideals  of  service."  "Dick's  devotion  to  duty"  Stephen 
Galatti  called  "  a  source  of  inspiration"  and  said,  "It  has 
been  a  privilege  to  be  with  him  continually,  at  work  and 
at  play,  to  depend  on  him  always,  to  look  for  his  cheerful 
smile  and  to  learn  patience  and  kindness  from  him." 

Late  in  December  vicious  attacks  surged  over  Hart- 
mannsweilerkopf.  "  Dick"  never  faltered,  until  during  the 
black  night  of  Christmas  Eve,  on  the  road  up  the  moun- 
tain he  was  killed  by  a  chance  shell,  "  in  the  morning  of  his 
youth."  Just  before  dawn  a  comrade  found  him  there, 
dead  beside  his  shattered  ambulance,  his  hands  still  clutch- 
ing the  wheel,  and  his  face  wearing  a  smile  as  though  he 
thought  of  the  Christmas  at  home.  He  is  buried  at 
Moosch,  in  the  valley  of  St.  Amarin,  his  grave  kept  fresh 
with  flowers  by  the  village  folk  who  knew  and  loved  him. 

Richard  Elliott  spoke  truly,  when  he  said :  "  It  seems 

to  me  Dick  had  less  need  of  this  life  than  most  of  us 

Had  n't  he  already  found  that  key  to  true  living  which  is 
reflected  in  our  unfailing  confidence?    How  beautifully 
the  mantle  of  heroism  falls  about  his  young  life.     .  .  . 
The  lives  of  all  who  knew  him  will  always  be  richer  for  his 
having  lived." 

"  There  fell  a  very  modest  and  valiant  Gentleman." 


RICHARD  NELVILLE  HALL 
Born  May  18,  1894,  in  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan.  Son  of  Dr.  Louis  P.  and 
Elizabeth  D.  Hall.  Educated  Ann  Arbor  schools,  University  of  Michigan, 
and  Dartmouth  College,  Class  of  1915.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
June  15,  1915;  attached  Section  Three.  Killed  by  shell  near  Hartsmanns- 
weilerkopf,  Alsace,  night  of  December  24-25,  1915.  Croix  de  Guerre. 
Buried  Moosch,  Alsace, 


EDWARD  JOSEPH  KELLEY 

Born  March  19,  1889,  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  Joseph  H.  and 
Mary  Reuss  Kelley.  Educated  Philadelphia  high  schools  ;  Rock  Hill  Col- 
lege, Ellicott  City,  Maryland  ;  and  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Class  of 
191 1.  Automobile  business,  Philadelphia.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
August  26,  1916;  attached  Section  Four.  Killed  by  shell  at  Marre,  near 
Verdun,  night  of  September  23,  1916.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Buried  at  Blercourt, 
Meuse. 


EDWARD  JOSEPH  KELLEY 

Edward  Kelley  belongs  to  that  small  and  heroic  band 
of  American  youths  who  gave  their  lives  for  France  while 
their  own  country  still  hesitated  to  take  issue.  In  the 
summer  of  191 6,  while  employed  in  the  service  depart- 
ment of  a  Philadelphia  automobile  manufactory,  he 
read  a  magazine  account  of  the  work  which  Americans 
were  doing  in  France.  On  August  26th,  he  sailed  as  a 
member  of  the  American  Field  Service,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  devoting  to  the  cause  the  expert  knowledge  of 
automobiles  which  he  possessed. 

He  had  expected  to  remain  in  Paris,  as  may  be  gleaned 
from  letters  written  home  shortly  after  his  arrival,  but 
an  opportunity  presented  itself  almost  immediately  of 
joining  Section  Four  at  the  front  and  he  eagerly  hailed 
this  chance  to  see  active  service  in  the  field.  Section  Four 
was  at  the  time  one  of  three  sections  located  in  the  Ver- 
dun sector,  whose  work  lay  in  the  region  of  the  famous 
Mort  Homme. 

His  term  of  service  was  to  be  short.  Six  days  after 
joining  the  section,  on  the  night  of  September  23,  1916, 
he  was  making  his  first  trip  to  the  dressing  station  in  the 
little  ruined  town  of  Marre,  and  was  being  shown  the 
road  by  a  veteran  of  the  section  named  Sanders.  They 
had  almost  reached  their  destination,  a  heavily  protected 
cellar,  when  a  German  shell  struck  about  three  yards  in 
front  of  the  ambulance,  sending  its  fragments  in  all  di- 
rections. Kelley  was  instantly  killed  and  his  companion 
seriously  wounded.  They  were  carried  back  in  another 
ambulance,  which  was  waiting  at  the  post,  to  Blercourt. 

He  was  buried  there  with  military  honors,  just  a  month 
from  the  day  he  had  sailed  from  New  York.  Mr.  An- 
drew, the  commanding  officer  of  the  Field  Service,  wrote 
a  few  days  later  to  Kelley's  sister,  describing  the  scene : 
**  Imagine  a  sunny,  warm  September  morning  and  a  vil- 
lage street  sloping  up  a  hillside.  In  the  open  entry  of  one 
of  the  houses,  the  front  of  which  was  hung  with  the  black 


EDWARD  JOSEPH  KELLEY 


and  silver  drapery  of  the  church  and  the  tricolor  of 
France,  the  coffin  was  placed,  wrapped  in  a  great  French 
flag,  covered  with  flowers  and  wreaths,  at  the  head  a 
small  American  flag  on  which  was  pinned  a  Croix  de 
Guerre  with  a  gold  star,  the  tribute  of  the  Army  Corps 
General  to  the  boy  who  had  given  his  life  for  France. 
Six  French  soldiers  bore  the  coffin  and  then  followed  rep- 
resentatives of  our  sections,  each  carrying  wreaths,  then 
the  General,  a  group  of  officers,  and  after  them  the  fifty 
or  more  Americans  surrounded  by  a  detachment  of  sol- 
diers with  arms  reversed.  The  scene  was  one  which  none 
there  could  ever  forget." 

Short  as  his  stay  had  been  with  his  comrades  at  the 
front,  the  place  he  had  made  for  himself  among  them  is 
more  than  evident  in  the  following  extract  from  a  letter 
sent  back  to  America  and  signed  by  every  member  of  the 
section :  "We  do  not  know  that  it  is  as  he  would  have 
wished,  since  he  had  much  to  live  for,  but  we  do  know 
that  the  sacrifice,  great  as  it  is,  was  made  ungrudgingly. 
On  us  who  have  served  here  at  the  front  with  Edward, 
his  sincerity  and  strength  of  purpose,  his  never  failing 
willingness  to  help  out,  no  matter  what  the  assistance 
needed,  no  matter  at  what  hour  of  the  day  or  night,  his 
earnestness  in  the  work  to  which  he  had  put  his  hand,  his 
cheerfulness  under  all  conditions, —  on  us,  proud  to  feel 
that  we  were  his  comrades,  these  qualities  have  made  a 
profound  and  lasting  impression.  Always  we  shall  hold 
it  a  privilege  that  we  served  with  him,  and  that  it  was 
as  one  of  us  that  he  met  his  heroic  end." 


EDWARD  CARTER  SORTWELL 

**  Every  person  has  some  trait  in  his  or  her  character 
which  dominates  all  others.  With  'Ed/  as  one  remem- 
bers him  as  a  boy,  later  at  college,  and  finally  in  business, 
the  one  word  'affectionate'  strikes  the  keynote  of  his 
personality.  His  happiest  moments  were  spent  with  his 
family  in  the  country  and  his  love  of  horses  and  dogs  was 
phenomenal.  His  next  most  dominant  trait  was  gener- 
osity. College  friends  and  mess-mates  in  India  have  all 
spoken  of  the  pleasure  he  received  in  giving.  The  last  and 
possibly  the  most  important  characteristic  was  courage. 
As  a  youngster  at  St.  Paul's  School,  one  can  remember 
his  flying  tackle,  his  willingness  to  take  a  chance  of  a 
mighty  hard  bump  in  the  hope  of  getting  his  man.  He 
usually  got  him." 

On  the  death  of  his  father,  a  former  mayor  of  Cam- 
bridge, he  left  Harvard  College  at  the  end  of  his  junior 
year  and  entered  the  employ  of  the  Ludlow  Manufactur- 
ing Associates.  It  was  in  pursuit  of  this  firm's  transac- 
tions in  jute  that  he  was  sent  to  Calcutta,  where  he  re- 
mained for  three  years.  In  the  spring  of  1916,  on  his  way 
back  to  America,  he  stopped  over  in  Paris  and,  becoming 
interested  in  the  work  which  the  American  Field  Service 
was  doing  at  the  front,  enlisted  for  a  term  of  six  months. 
Section  Eight  was  just  leaving  for  action,  and  as  one  of 
the  original  members  of  the  section  he  served  from  May 
until  September,  191 6,  in  Champagne  and  around  Ver- 
dun. 

Austin  Mason,  chef  of  Section  Eight,  has  written  of  the 
work  of  the  Section  :  "My  memor>'  of  the  fellows  is  most 
vivid  at  the  time  when  we  had  the  hardest  work.  This 
was  at  Dugny,  near  Verdun,  and  our  poste  de  secours  was 
the  Fort  de  Tavannes.  One  of  the  hardest  attacks  on  the 
Verdun  sector  was  going  on  at  the  time,  in  June,  1916, 
and  those  who  were  with  us  came  through  that  time  with 
great  credit.  Volunteers  were  called  for  every  so  often  for 
some  particularly  dangerous  job,  and  there  was  never  a 


EDWARD  CARTER  SORTWELL 


lack  of  them.  I  can  remember  Sortwell,  with  his  earnest 
eager  face,  volunteering  among  the  first.  He  did  excel- 
lent work  while  he  was  with  us  and  all  the  fellows  were 
very  fond  of  him,  for  he  enjoyed  a  good  time  when  he 
was  not  on  duty  and  was  always  ready  to  take  part  in  any 
amusement  or  party  that  was  planned.  It  was  a  great 
blow  to  all  of  us  to  have  him  taken  away  with  two  others 
of  the  crowd  when  the  section  for  Salonica  was  formed." 

Late  in  September  he  volunteered  for  duty  with  Sec- 
tion Three  in  the  Orient  and  was  accepted.  Barely  two 
weeks  after  landing  in  Salonica  and  while  waiting  for  the 
cars  to  be  made  ready,  he  was  struck  by  a  heavy  motor 
car  while  crossing  a  dark  street,  concussion  of  the  brain 
resulting,  and  he  died  the  following  night,  Sunday,  No- 
vember 1 2th,  1 91 6.  He  was  buried  in  the  French  Ceme- 
tery on  the  outskirts  of  Salonica,  his  coffin  covered  with  a 
French  and  an  American  flag. 

In  a  letter  to  Sortwell's  mother,  A.  Piatt  Andrew, 
head  of  the  American  Field  Service,  wrote:  "Your  son 
has  left  in  the  memory  of  all  those  who  were  associated 
with  him  a  fine  record  of  arduous  and  in  many  cases 
dangerous  work,  eagerly  and  courageously  performed ; 
an  example  of  manly  endurance  in  the  performance  of 
duty  which  will  never  be  forgotten.  He  never  hesitated 
and  never  shirked  before  a  dangerous  mission.  He  is  the 
third  of  our  American  volunteers  to  give  his  life  in  the 
service  of  France  in  her  hours  of  peril,  and  with  his  sacri- 
fice he  has  added  one  more  link  to  the  bonds  of  friend- 
ship which  have  bound  our  two  countries  since  their 
earliest  days." 


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EDWARD  CARTER  SORTWELL 

Born  March  25,  1889,  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Alvin  Foye 
and  Gertrude  W.  Sortwell.  Educated  St.  Paul's  School,  Concord,  New 
Hampshire,  and  Harvard  University,  three  years,  Class  of  191 1.  In  busi- 
ness with  Ludlow  Manufacturing  Associates ;  three  years  in  India,  from 
1913.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  April  26,  1916;  attached  Section 
Eight  to  September,  1916,  then  Section  Three  in  Salonica.  Died  Novem- 
ber 12,  1916,  of  injuries  received  in  accident,  Salonica,  November  ir. 
Buried,  Salonica.  Body  transferred  to  Mt.  Auburn  Cemetery,  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts. 


HOWARD  BURCHARD  LINES 

Born  March  5,  1891,  in  New  York  City.  Only  son  of  Dr.  Ernest  Howard 
and  Elisabeth  L.  Lines,  Home,  Paris,  France.  Educated  Anglo-Saxon 
School,  Paris;  University  of  Paris,  Sorbonne,  " baccalaureat "  1908;  Dart- 
mouth College,  Class  of  191 2  ;  Harvard  Law  School,  1915.  Joined  American 
Field  Service,  September  8,  1915 ;  attached  Section  One  to  December  30, 
1915;  reenlisted  September  17,  1916 ;  attached  Sections  Eight  and  One. 
Died  at  the  front,  of  pneumonia,  December  23,  1916.  Buried  Christmas 
Day,  La  Grange  aux  Bois,  Argonne.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Body  now  in  Ameri- 
can Military  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  near  Paris,  Seine. 


HOWARD  BURCHARD  LINES 

"Rainy"  Lines, —  as  he  was  known  by  his  classmates 
at  Dartmouth  and  Harvard,  and  by  many  of  his  friends 
in  the  Field  Service, —  died  while  on  active  duty  at  the 
front,  December  23,  191 6,  and  was  buried  on  Christmas 
Day,  with  all  military  honors,  in  the  little  town  of  La 
Grange  aux  Bois,  in  the  Argonne. 

Educated  in  France,  and  loving  intensely  her  people 
and  her  traditions.  Lines  was  prepared  from  the  begin- 
ning to  make  any  sacrifice  for  her  cause.  "Devoted  and 
courageous,"  read  an  Army  Order  of  the  Day,  "he  was 
sent  to  the  rear,  ill.  He  returned  again  eagerly  to  the 
front  after  his  recovery,  contracted  a  grave  malady,  and 
died  for  France." 

On  graduating  from  the  Harvard  Law  School  in  the 
early  part  of  the  summer  of  1915,  "Rainy"  Lines  en- 
listed in  the  Field  Service  and  was  attached  to  Section 
One,  then  working  under  unusually  hard  conditions  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Dunkirk.  "What  a  comfort  it  is  to 
have  Lines  with  us,"  wrote  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
Field  Service.  "  His  work  is  always  well  done,  he  is  never 
rattled,  and,  at  the  same  time,  he  has  a  quick,  cheerful, 
and  sympathetic  nature  from  which  others  draw  en- 
couragement. " 

In  the  summer  of  191 6  he  was  operated  upon  for  ap- 
pendicitis and  an  abdominal  injury.  He  also  was  com- 
pelled to  spend  several  weeks  in  the  hospital  suffering 
from  chicken  pox  complicated  by  an  attack  of  grippe. 
Only  those  who  saw  him  at  this  time  can  know  how  much 
he  chafed  at  this  enforced  withdrawal  from  active  ser- 
vice, how  he  coaxed  the  doctors  to  permit  his  return  to 
the  front,  and  how  eagerly  he  resumed  his  work. 

This  time  he  was  temporarily  attached  to  Section 
Eight,  where,  as  in  Section  One,  he  soon  became  at  home, 
and  did  sterling  work,  but  he  was  insistently  reclaimed 
by  his  old  Section,  and  to  Section  One  he  was  presently 
reassigned.    Lines  made  many  friends,  both  among  his 


HOWARD  BURCHARD  LINES 


fellow  volunteers  and  among  the  French  with  whom  his 
work  constantly  brought  him  in  contact,  and  with  whom 
he  loved  to  spend  his  time  when  off  duty.  Just  before  his 
death  he  was  recommended  for  the  Croix  de  Guerre.  It 
had  also  been  decided  to  appoint  him  Sous-chef  of  the 
Section,  for  every  one  was  coming  to  rely  more  and 
more  upon  his  experience,  his  steady  sense,  his  ability  to 
co-operate  with  the  French  authorities,  his  enthusiasm, 
and  his  qualities  of  leadership. 

The  immediate  cause  of  death  was  cerebral  meningitis 
following  an  acute  attack  of  pneumonia.  Four  of  his 
comrades  in  Section  One  acted  as  pallbearers  ;  the  funeral 
services  were  read  by  a  Protestant  clergyman  serving 
with  the  armies  as  a  stretcher  bearer ;  and  the  interment 
was  witnessed  by  his  father,  mother,  and  sister,  who  had 
been  given  special  permission  by  the  Ministry  of  Wiar  to 
proceed  from  Paris  to  the  front ;  by  Robert  Bacon,  for- 
merly American  Ambassador  to  France  ;  and  by  A.  Piatt 
Andrew,  Inspector  General  of  the  Field  Service. 

None  of  the  little  group  of  Americans  who  stood  that 
Christmas  Day  by  the  open  grave  of  this  volunteer  could 
foresee  the  future,  but  in  retrospect  they  will  always 
think  of  "  Rainy''  Lines  as  the  advance  guard  of  the  for- 
midable thousands  of  their  countrymen  who,  two  years 
later,  hallowed  with  their  blood  the  valley  of  the  Meuse 
and  were  laid  to  rest,  as  he  was  laid  to  rest,  beneath  the 
white  crosses  which  dot  its  hillsides. 

Lines  was  one  of  the  first  Dartmouth  men  to  join  the 
Field  Service,  and  a  Dartmouth  bed  at  the  American 
Ambulance  at  Neuilly,  endowed  by  college  friends,  was 
dedicated  to  ''Howard  Burchard  Lines,  son  of  Dart- 
mouth, a  sympathetic,  loyal,  generous  friend,  whose 
death  befitted  his  life  and  who  needs  no  words  to  pay 
him  honor. " 


ADDISON  LEECH  BLISS 

Born  in  Springfield,  where  he  had  his  earliest  schooling, 
Addison  Leech  Bliss  went  when  about  ten  years  of  age 
to  Fay  School  at  Southboro.  In  1904  he  entered  St. 
Mark^s  to  prepare  for  Harvard,  and  joined  enthusiasti- 
cally in  the  activities  of  his  companions.  He  was  an  ath- 
lete of  no  mean  ability,  playing  for  two  years  upon  both 
the  school  football  and  baseball  teams,  in  his  last  year 
captaining  the  latter.  He  became  extremely  popular, 
and  was  a  monitor  as  well  as  president  of  his  class. 

An  old  friend,  who  had  known  Addison  since  he  was  a 
small  boy  and  seen  a  great  deal  of  him  at  the  Bliss  sum- 
mer home  in  New  London,  was,  he  said,  "greatly  at- 
tracted because  of  his  winning  personality,"  adding,  "I 
am  told  he  was  very  popular  both  at  his  school  and  with 
his  classmates  at  Harvard."  Upon  entering  college  with 
the  Class  of  1914  Bliss  continued  to  win  friends  and  ath- 
letic successes.  A  subsequent  class  report  says  :  "  His  gen- 
erosity, geniality,  and  whole-heartedness  made  him  one 
of  the  most  likable  men  it  is  given  us  to  know."  His  sec- 
ond year  he  spent  at  Haverford  College,  returning  to 
Harvard  in  the  fall  of  1912.  His  popularity  was  undi- 
minished and  while  he  was  ejected  to  several  clubs,  un- 
fortunately his  studies  did  not  receive  a  great  deal  of  at- 
tention. The  late  Lawrence  Sexton,  a  classmate  of  his 
father *s  at  Harvard,  remarked  of  Addison  that  **he  did 
not  graduate  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  was  not  a  diligent 
student.  Notwithstanding  his  lack  of  diligence,  he  is  a 
bright,  capable,  energetic  young  man."  Proof  of  this  last 
is  the  success  which  he  made  of  his  business  affairs. 

Bliss  left  college  about  Christmas  time  and  took  a  posi- 
tion with  the  Ellsworth  Collieries  Company,  after  a 
while  joining  the  Union  Collieries  Company  of  Pitts- 
burgh. He  was  active  in  the  development  of  the  mines, 
being  concerned  with  the  installation  work.  As  a  result 
of  his  efforts  he  was  made  a  director  of  the  company, 
which  he  left  only  to  enter  the  ranks  of  the  Allies. 


ADDISON  LEECH  BLISS 


The  following,  which  concerns  his  War  service,  is 
quoted  from  "St.  Mark's  School  in  the  War  against  Ger- 
many," edited  by  A.  E.  Benson :  "  Bliss'  record  is  in  one 
sense  a  short  one,  for  he  was  not  granted  the  time  in 
which  to  accomplish  the  work  for  which  he  went  to 
France ;  but  this  bare  fact,  though  cruel  to  him,  makes 
little  difference  to  his  friends,  and  none  in  the  honor  and 
love  in  which  they  hold  him.  Before  his  country  entered 
the  war  he  left  his  home  and  his  business,  volunteered 
from  pure  sense  of  personal  duty,  and  died  in  the  service. 
Such  a  record  needs  no  longer  life  in  which  to  emphasize 
it,  however  bitterly  his  friends  may  grieve  that  he  could 
not  have  lived  and  had  his  reward." 

Addison  resigned  his  position  in  Pittsburgh,  sailed  for 
France  on  the  Touraine,  January  28,  191 7,  a  volunteer 
driver  in  the  American  Field  Service.  After  a  stormy 
voyage  and  while  in  Paris  waiting  to  be  sent  to  the  front, 
Bliss  caught  a  severe  cold  from  which  pneumonia  devel- 
oped, and  on  February  22d,  less  than  a  month  after  leav- 
ing the  United  States,  he  died.  Two  days  later  he  was 
buried,  with  very  beautiful  services,  at  the  American 
Church  in  Paris. 

A  fitting  tribute  and  expression  of  their  regard  for  him 
comes  from  his  Harvard  Classmates  in  their  second  Re- 
port: "The  multitude  of  friends  he  has  left,  who  loved 
him  so  dearly,  will  miss  him  always  and  the  place  he 
filled  in  the  hearts  of  all  of  us  can  never  be  refilled." 


10 


ADDISON  LEECH  BLISS 

Born  November  21,  1891,  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Chester 
W.  and  Isadora  Leech  Bliss.  Home,  Boston,  Massachusetts.  Educated 
Springfield  schools.  Fay  and  St.  Mark's  Schools,  Southboro,  Massachusetts, 
and  Harvard  University,  Class  of  1914.  Left  college  Junior  year  to  enter 
business,  with  Ellsworth  and  later  Union  Collieries  Companies  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Joined  American  Field  Service,  January  28,  191 7.  Died  of  pneu- 
monia in  Paris,  February  22,  191 7.  Buried  in  Paris,  France.  Body  trans- 
ferred to  Peabody  Cemetery,  Springfield,  Massachusetts. 


JAMES  ROGERS  McCONNELL 

Born  March  14,  1887,  in  Chicago,  Illinois.  Son  of  Judge  Samuel  P.  and 
Sarah  Rogers  McConnell.  Home,  Carthage,  North  Carolina.  Educated 
Morristown  School,  New  Jersey ;  Haverford  School,  Pennsylvania,  and 
University  of  Virginia,  Class  of  19 10.  In  business.  New  York  City.  From 
191 2,  Industrial  Agent,  Randolph  and  Cumberland  Railroad,  North  Caro- 
lina. Secretary,  Carthage  Board  of  Trade.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
February  11,  191 5  ;  attached  Section  Two  until  December  12,  19 15.  Croix 
de  Guerre.  Enlisted  French  Aviation,  October  i,  19 15.  Trained  Pau  and 
Plessis-Belleville.  Breveted  February  6,  1916.  Attached  as  Sergent,  Lafa- 
yette Escadrille,  N  124,  April  20,  1916.  Killed  in  combat  over  the  German 
lines,  March  19,  191 7,  near  Petit-Detroit,  southeast  of  Ham.  Croix  de 
Guerre  with  palm.    Buried  Petit-Detroit,  Aisne. 


JAMES  ROGERS  McCONNELL 

In  the  long  list  of  those  who  gave  their  lives  in  the  War, 
there  is  one  small  group  of  names  which  must  ever  rank 
above  the  rest.  These  were  the  men  who,  before  America 
entered  the  struggle,  fought  and  died  for  the  cause  which 
they  had  made  their  own,  side  by  side  with  the  blue 
coated  soldiers  of  France.  Of  these  James  R.  McConnell 
was  one. 

When  war  broke  out  in  Europe  he  was  employed  in 
Carthage,  North  Carolina,  as  the  land  and  industrial 
agent  of  a  railroad  company.  He  soon  came  to  the  con- 
clusion, as  he  is  quoted  in  the  introduction  to  his  book, 
**  Flying  for  France,"  that :  **  These  sand  hills  will  be  here 
forever,  but  the  war  won't,  so  I  'm  going."  From  Febru- 
ary to  December,  19 15,  he  served  with  the  American 
Field  Service,  first  as  one  of  a  group  of  drivers  attached 
to  a  hospital  at  Beauvais,  and,  from  April  on,  as  one  of 
the  original  members  of  Section  Two  at  Pont-a-Mousson, 
where  he  had  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  fearless 
member  of  the  section. 

It  was  undoubtedly  in  no  small  part  his  love  of  danger 
and  adventure  which  first  drew  McConnell  to  France, 
but  by  the  fall  of  191 5,  these  motives  had  given  way  en- 
tirely, before  the  keen  realization  of  what  the  war  meant, 
to  a  desire  to  give  his  utmost  to  the  cause  of  France.  He 
left  the  Field  Service  and  enlisted  in  the  French  Army 
with  the  idea  of  training  for  aviation  and  in  April,  191 6, 
was  sent  to  the  front  in  the  newly  formed  Lafayette 
Escadrille,  with  such  comrades  as  Rockwell,  Lufbery, 
Prince,  and  Chapman. 

At  the  front  he  seemed  destined  to  have  bad  luck  from 
the  start.  Twice  he  was  left  without  a  machine,  once 
after  an  accident  at  Luxeuil,  and  again  at  the  time  of  his 
first  trip  over  the  Verdun  sector.  In  the  latter  instance 
he  boldly  attacked  six  German  planes  and  in  the  un- 
equal combat  had  his  machine  riddled  with  bullets.  In 
August  he  and  Lufbery  brought  down  a  two-seated  Ger- 

II 


JAMES  ROGERS  McCONNELL 


man  machine  and  each  was  officially  credited  with  half  a 
share  in  the  victory.  Soon  afterward,  however,  while 
making  a  landing  in  the  dark,  he  so  badly  wrenched  his 
back  that  the  resulting  rheumatism  confined  him  to  the 
hospital  until  the  following  spring.  Then,  despite  the 
fact  that  he  was  still  unfit  for  service,  he  insisted  upon 
returning  to  the  squadron  on  March  lo,  191 7. 

Nine  days  later  he  fell  at  the  little  village  of  Petit- 
Detroit,  southwest  of  St.  Quentin.  One  of  his  comrades, 
C.  C.  Johnson,  wrote  :  "Like  old  Kiffin,  Mac  died  glori- 
ously and  in  full  action.  It  was  in  a  fight  with  three  Ger- 
mans in  their  lines.  Genet  took  one  Hun  and  was 
wounded.  The  last  he  saw  was  a  Hun  on  Mac*s  back. 
Later  we  learned  from  the  cavalry  that  there  were  two  on 
Mac  and  after  a  desperate  fight  he  crashed  to  the  ground. 

Three  days  later  we  took  that  territory and  Mac 

was  buried  where  he  fell,  in  a  coffin  made  from  the  door 
of  a  pillaged  house."  In  his  lifetime  "Jim"  had  said 
were  he  killed  he  desired  to  be  buried  where  he  fell,  and 
so  it  is.  The  French  165th  Infantry  used  stones  from  a 
nearby  ruined  village  to  erect  there  a  beautiful  monu- 
ment. The  grave  is  decorated  with  flowers  by  the  peas- 
ants, and  in  the  words  of  one  of  them,  "It  will  always  be 
covered  with  flowers ;  you  know  he  was  a  volunteer." 

No  words  can  add  to  the  record  of  his  achievements, 
nor  can  any  one  who  knew  him  ever  forget  the  impres- 
sion of  his  manly  nature,  whimsical  humor,  fearlessness, 
and  above  all,  his  love  for  France.  One  phrase  from  his 
posthumous  citation  for  the  Croix  de  Guerre  with  palm, 
is  sufficient  proof  that  these  qualities  were  not  unknown 
or  unappreciated  by  the  army  he  so  nobly  served : 
**  Pilote  modeste,  autantque  courageux,  disait  souvent  d  ses 
camarades  :  *  Tant  mieux  si  je  dots  etre  tue,  puisque  c'est 
pour  la  France.'  " 


12 


HENRY  EGLINTON  MONTGOMERY  SUCKLEY 

"These  boys  who  have  gone,  taking  our  colors  and  our  spirit  into  the  out- 
posts of  civilization,  will  one  day  be  honored  and  remembered  as  having 
deserved  well  of  their  country  and  having  by  their  example  and  their  sac- 
rifice kept  alive  a  noble  tradition  and  a  true  American  spirit In  a 

dark  period,  perhaps  the  darkest  in  our  whole  history,  it  is  the  example  of 
boys  like  Suckley  which  gives  us  hope  even  in  despair." 

Editorial,  ''New  York  Tribune,'"  March  28,  191 7. 

Henry  Suckley,  one  of  the  first  Field  Service  men  to 
reach  France  and  participate  in  the  work  at  the  front, 
was  mortally  wounded  on  March  18,  191 7,  at  Zemlak, 
Albania,  while  in  the  active  discharge  of  his  duties  as 
Chef  of  Section  Ten.  He  died  a  day  later  in  a  hospital  at 
Koritza,  where  he  was  buried  with  all  military  honors  by  a 
Protestant  chaplain,  in  the  Allied  cemetery,  among  the  re- 
mains of  many  of  the  soldiers  for  whom  he  had  given  his  life. 

Speaking  by  his  grave  the  senior  French  officer  pres- 
ent said:  "Henry  Suckley  always  joined  to  the  highest 
qualities  of  a  leader  the  humble  patience  of  a  soldier,  be- 
lieving that  the  best  way  to  obtain  obedience  was  him- 
self to  set  an  example  in  everything."  And  one  of  the 
directors  of  the  Field  Service  wrote  when  he  heard  of  his 
death :  "Of  the  many  hundreds  of  Americans  who  have 
come  and  gone  in  this  organization,  he  was  one  of  the 
three  or  four  on  whom  we  depended  the  most  and  who  was 
the  most  liked  and  trusted  by  those  who  worked  with 
him  or  for  him.'* 

Suckley  joined  the  Field  Service  in  February,  191 5,  and 
in  May  of  the  same  year  he  went  to  the  front  with  Sec- 
tion Three.  He  remained  continuously  with  that  unit,  on 
the  Alsatian,  Lorraine,  and  Verdun  fronts  until  Septem- 
ber, 1 91 6,  was  awarded  the  Croix  de  Guerre  for  gallantry 
in  action,  and  appointed  Sous-chef  of  the  Section.  He 
then  made  a  short  trip  home  to  recruit  men  and  collect 
money  for  the  Service,  and  returning  in  November  to 
France  was  put  in  command  of  Section  Ten,  the  money 
for  the  organization  and  support  of  which  had  been  con- 
tributed by  the  New  York  Stock  Exchange. 

13 


HENRY  EGLINTON  MONTGOMERY  SUCKLEY 

Section  Ten  was  ordered  at  once  to  join  the  Army  of  the 
Orient  at  Salonica,  and,  when  it  was  given  work  to  do  at 
the  front,  began  immediately  to  make  an  enviable  repu- 
tation. But  Suckley,  to  whose  influence  as  leader  so 
much  of  its  success  was  due,  did  not  live  to  receive  his 
share  of  the  credit,  for  on  March  i8th  there  was  an 
enemy  air  raid  over  Zemlak,  where  Section  headquarters 
had  been  established,  and  he  was  mortally  wounded  by 
a  fragment  of  a  bomb. 

He  was  carried  in  one  of  the  Section's  ambulances  to  a 
hospital  in  Koritza  where  he  died  quietly  the  next  morn- 
ing. He  retained  consciousness  all  night  and  gave  direc- 
tions about  the  work  of  the  Section  and  said  repeatedly 
to  everybody  who  saw  him,  "  Don't  bother  about  me." 

To  the  lot  of  Henry  Suckley,  while  a  volunteer  in  the 
Field  Service,  fell  many  tasks, —  to  work  and  to  wait  in 
the  rear  while  the  foundations  of  the  Service  were  being 
laid,  to  be  one  of  the  first  to  take  part  in  active  battle  op- 
erations at  the  front,  to  return  to  the  United  States  and 
interest  others  in  the  vital  work  which  was  being  done 
in  France,  and,  finally,  to  assume  his  first  command  upon 
a  distant  front  amid  strange  and  perplexing  surroundings. 
He  met  each  demand  that  duty  made  upon  him  with  a 
success  and  a  modesty  which  won  the  afltection  and  the 
admiration  of  his  fellows,  and  he  will  always  remain  with 
us,  noble  in  memory  and  in  influence. 


14 


HENRY  EGLINTON  MONTGOMERY  SUCKLEY 

Born  February  i8,  1887,  in  Orange,  New  Jersey.  Son  of  Robert  Bowne  and 
Elizabeth  Montgomery  Suckley.  Home,  Rhinebeck,  New  York.  Educated 
abroad,  Phillips  Academy,  Exeter,  and  Harvard  University,  Class  of  1910. 
In  business.  New  York  City.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  February  12, 
1915  ;  attached  Section  Three;  Sous-chef,  May,  1915,  to  September,  1916. 
Recruited  for  Field  Service,  in  America,  September  to  November.  Com- 
mandant Adjoint,  Section  Ten,  November,  1916.  Croix  de  Guerre.  To  the 
Balkans.  Wounded  by  avion  bombs,  March  18,  at  Zemlak.  Died  March  19, 
191 7,  at  Koritza,  Albania.   Buried  in  Koritza. 


ALBERT  AUGUSTUS  PORTER 

Born  September  30,  1896,  in  Buffalo,  New  York.  Son  of  Alexander  J.  and 
Maud  Langmuir  Porter.  Home,  Niagara  Falls,  New  York.  Educated  Rid- 
ley College,  St.  Catherines,  Ontario,  and  Cornell  University,  Class  of 
1919.  Plattsburg  Camp,  1916.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  March  12, 
191 7  ;  attached  Headquarters.  Died  in  Paris  of  pneumonia,  April  25,  191 7, 
at  Hospital  Buffon.  Funeral  services  in  Paris.  Buried  Oakwood  Cemetery, 
Niagara  Falls,  New  York. 


ALBERT  AUGUSTUS  PORTER 

Albert  Augustus  Porter,  when  war  broke  out  in  1914, 
was  at  Ridley  College,  St.  Catherines,  Ontario.  His 
residence  in  Canada  gave  to  him,  far  more  than  to  most 
boys  of  his  age  in  the  United  States,  a  realization  of  the 
true  significance  of  the  struggle,  and  although  but  eight- 
een years  of  age  he  was  eager  from  the  first  to  enlist  with 
his  Canadian  school-mates  for  service  in  France.  It  was 
consideration  for  his  family's  wishes,  however,  which  in- 
duced him  to  postpone  for  the  time  his  project  and  to 
continue  his  studies  at  Cornell  University. 

The  summer  of  1916  he  attended  Plattsburg,  return- 
ing to  Cornell  in  September,  but  by  mid-winter  his  desire 
to  take  an  active  part  in  the  war  was  too  great  to  be 
longer  denied  and  in  February  he  enrolled  with  the 
American  Field  Service.  He  wrote  from  New  York  early 
in  March,  a  day  or  two  before  sailing :  "  Naturally  I  feel 
a  little  too  happy,  but  it  is  because  I  am  going  to  do 
what  I  have  always  longed  to  do.'* 

The  sort  of  youth  he  was,  who  sailed  so  happily  away, 
is  admirably  shown  in  a  letter  to  his  family  from  one  of 
his  headmasters  at  Ridley  College :  "Since  he  entered  the 
lower  school  as  a  little  boy,  my  admiration  and  affection 
for  him  have  never  waned.  I  never  knew  him  to  say  a 
mean  word  or  heard  of  his  doing  a  thing  which  would  not 
bear  the  full  light  of  day.  Full  of  enthusiasm  for  all  the 
good  and  true  things  of  life,  he  was  one  of  my  ideals  of 
what  a  boy  should  be.  His  boyish  consideration  for 
others,  his  constant  desire  to  do  what  was  right,  his  in- 
tolerance of  wrong,  all  these  grew  to  manhood  with  him 
and  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  stay  at  home  while 
there  was  such  work  to  be  done.' ' 

Upon  his  arrival  in  Paris  he  was  assigned  to  Section 
Four  and  was  on  the  point  of  leaving  for  the  front  when 
he  contracted  measles  which  necessitated  his  being  sent 
to  a  hospital.  Here  he  remained,  chafing  under  the  delay, 
and  more  and  more  anxious  each  day  to  join  his  com- 

15 


ALBERT  AUGUSTUS  PORTER 


rades  at  the  front.  It  seemed  to  him  particularly  hard  to 
be  on  the  verge  of  realizing  his  dream  and  then  to  be  held 
back  by  a  trivial  illness. 

At  last  his  eagerness  was  so  great  that  he  insisted  upon 
going  out  to  test  his  strength,  but  the  raw  Paris  spring 
weather  was  too  much  for  him  and  pneumonia  devel- 
oped. He  died  on  April  25,  191 7,  when  not  yet  twenty- 
one,  a  month  after  reaching  France.  A  military  funeral 
was  held  at  the  American  Church,  the  first  since  the 
United  States  had  declared  war,  and  was  attended  by 
many  of  his  comrades  and  officers  of  the  Field  Service 
and  by  prominent  American  and  French  residents.  His 
casket,  draped  in  an  American  flag,  was  sent  back  to 
Niagara  Falls. 

It  seems  especially  sad  that  one  who  had  so  long  de- 
sired to  join  the  struggle  should  die  in  this  way.  He  had 
already  traveled  thousands  of  miles  to  achieve  his  pur- 
pose and  it  was  only  a  seemingly  cruel  chance  which 
snatched  him  away  just  as  he  was  about  to  reach  the 
front.  His  very  eagerness  to  serve  would  have  rendered 
him  of  exceptional  value  to  the  cause,  yet,  dying  as  he 
did,  his  name  stands,  for  all  who  knew  him,  as  that  of  a 
soldier  who  gave  his  all  for  his  country. 


16 


LEIF  NORMAN  BARCLAY 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  19 14,  Leif  Norman  Barclay 
was  in  Norway  visiting  the  country  of  his  ancestors.  Con- 
tact with  this  land  that  had  bred  heroes  long  before  Amer- 
ica was  known  to  exist,  fired  his  Norse  blood  and  fixed  his 
determination  to  serve  under  the  Tri-color  of  France  in 
the  struggle  that  represented  to  him  romance,  adventure, 
and  sacrifice  —  life  at  its  broadest  and  fullest.  In 
November  then  of  19 14  he  joined  the  ranks  of  the 
American  Ambulance,  going  into  the  field  with  Section 
Two,  in  which  he  served,  except  for  a  three  months*  fur- 
lough to  the  United  States  in  191 5,  until  June  of  191 6. 
Immediately  his  term  of  enlistment  expired  Leif  entered 
French  Aviation.  Delayed  some  weeks  in  reaching  the 
front,  because  of  an  accidental  pistol  wound,  after  suc- 
cessfully passing  through  the  schools,  Barclay  made  up 
for  lost  time  by  going  after  the  Huns  with  an  enthusiasm 
and  dash  that  electrified  his  companions.  Captain 
Echard,  his  commander,  said  of  him :  "Impatient  to  dis- 
tinguish himself  in  daring  action,  never  permitting  a  day 
to  pass  without  seeking  battle,  it  was  constantly  neces- 
sary to  restrain  his  zeal." 

Harold  Buckley  Willis,  the  first  member  of  the  Lafa- 
yette Escadrille  to  be  captured,  and  Leif's  comrade  in 
both  Field  Service  and  aviation  school  days,  gives  this 
striking  account  of  him  and  his  worth  : 

"The  surviving  poilus  of  the  1915  Bois-Le-Pretre  offen- 
sive of  the  76th  Division  will  certainly  remember  the 
genial  'blond'  of  'les  americains'  our  comrade,  Leif  Bar- 
clay, long  after  the  rest  of  us  are  forgotten.  His  cheery 
faculty  of  quickly  putting  himself  on  a  footing  of  friendly 
intimacy  with  those  bearded  warriors  was  such  that 
eventually  he  was  known  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  our  eight  mile  front  as  *  Mon  pot. ' 

"Leif  shared  with  Vivian  DuBouchet  the  distinction 
of  being  both  one  of  the  earliest  and  youngest  volunteers 
for  the  American  Ambulance  Service,  for  he  joined  Sec- 

17 


LEIF  NORMAN  BARCLAY 


tion  Two  in  the  winter  of  19 14  at  the  age  of  nineteen. 
Newcomers  to  the  section  and  later  to  the  aviation 
schools  and  squadrons  to  which  he  was  attached  will 
always  have  a  kindly  remembrance  of  Leif  for  the  trouble 
he  took  to  help  them  learn  the  ropes  and  to  teach  them 
how  to  make  themselves  comfortable.  At  Buc,  Avord, 
and  Pau,  Barclay  did  more  than  any  of  us  to  lend  friendly 
aid  to  newly-arrived  compatriots. 

**Leif  was  one  of  the  first  Americans  to  be  assigned  to 
an  entirely  French  pursuit  squadron.  This  was  no  hard- 
ship, for  his  genial  good-nature  caused  him  to  be  welcomed 
with  open  arms  into  the  French  pilots'  mess.  The  cour- 
age and  audacity  which  had  carried  him,  grinning, 
through  smoke  and  eclats  on  bombarded  roads  did  not 
fail  him  now.  His  eagerness  to  volunteer  for  special 
patrols  early  won  the  affection  of  his  fellows  and  the 
respect  of  his  superiors.  His  lieutenant  stated  that  Leif 
was  more  pleased  by  an  opportunity  to  make  an  extra 
sortie,  than  by  a  permission  to  Paris  —  a  feeling  hardly 
typical  of  aviators  in  general. 

**A  pitiful  accident  over  his  home  field,  due  to  a  struc- 
tural fault  in  his  plane,  caused  his  death  and  prevented 
his  making  that  great  name  for  himself  in  the  air  which 
such  fearless  energy  as  his  must  otherwise  ultimately  have 
won." 

Leif  was  one  of  those  adventurous  spirits  for  whom  no 
other  end  could  have  been  more  fitting  or  inevitable — 
in  the  air,  on  duty,  as  he  might  have  wished. 

"He  had  proved  his  metal." 


18 


LEIF  NORMAN  BARCLAY 

Born  May  21,  1895,  in  New  York  City.  Son  of  Dr.  H.  V.  and  Hansine  O. 
Barclay.  Early  home,  East  Elmhurst,  New  York.  Educated  New  York 
public  schools.  Two  years  in  business.  Joined  American  Ambulance  Field 
Service,  November  24,  1914;  attached  Section  Two  until  August,  1915. 
Three  months  leave  in  America.  Re-enlisted  Field  Service  November, 
191 5  ;  attached  Section  Two  to  June  12,  1916.  Enlisted  French  Aviation, 
June  26,  1916.  Trained  Buc,  Avord,  Cazeau,  Pau,  and  Plessis-Belleville. 
Breveted,  October  6,  1916;  attached  Escadrille  N-82,  April  12,  1917. 
Promoted  Sergent,  May  31,  191 7.  Croix  de  Guerre  with  palm.  Killed  in 
aeroplane  accident  June  i,  191 7,  at  Chaux,  north  of  Belfort.  Buried  Chaux, 
Territoire  de  Belfort.  Body  probably  to  be  transferred  to  American  Ceme- 
tery, Belleau  Wood. 


BENJAMIN  RUSSELL  WOODWORTH 

Born  August  5,  1886,  in  Stockton,  California.  Son  of  Benjamin  Russell 
and  Ruth  G.  Woodworth.  Home,  Germantown,  Pennsylvania.  Educated 
Milton  Academy,  Milton,  Massachusetts.  Traffic  Department,  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad,  Philadelphia,  1905  to  191 2.  Lumbering,  Maine  woods. 
Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  31,  1915;  attached  Section  One,  to 
July  5,  1916.  On  leave  in  America  to  October.  Rejoined  Section  One, 
October  21,  1916.  Commandant  Adjoint,  March,  19 17.  Killed  in  aeroplane 
accident  near  Soissons,  June  15,  191 7.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Buried,  Chalons- 
sur-Vesle.  Marne. 


BENJAMIN  RUSSELL  WOODWORTH 

On  leaving  Milton  Academy  in  1905,  Benjamin  R.  Wood- 
worth  made  his  residence  in  German  town,  Pennsylvania, 
and  entered  the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 
traffic  department,  in  Philadelphia.  Here  he  remained 
until  1912,  when,  finding  the  confines  of  an  office  too  irk- 
some, he  left  for  several  seasons  in  the  Maine  woods.  He 
spent  some  time  at  Cedar  Swamp,  West  Sebois,  Maine, 
following  the  woodsman's  life  in  all  its  phases :  lumber- 
man, hunter,  and  guide.  In  the  spring  of  191 5,  drawn  by 
the  opportunity  for  action  which  the  war  offered,  he  en- 
listed in  the  American  Field  Service  and  joined  Section 
One  at  Dunkirk  in  June. 

It  has  meant  much  to  any  American  who  had  any  share 
in  the  life  of  France  during  those  first  years  of  the  war, 
and  how  much  more  to  anyone  who  served  as  a  part  of 
the  French  Army  at  the  front.  One  of  the  members  of 
Section  One,  writing  in  the  "History  of  the  American 
Field  Service  in  France,"  has  described  an  impression  of 
those  early  days  :  "  At  our  base,  Dunkirk,  we  shared  the 
life  of  a  town  under  sporadic  but  devastating  bombard- 
ment ;  still  farther  forward,  in  Ypres,  we  beheld  a  town 
bombarded  from  the  face  of  the  earth  in  a  single  night. 
There  we  shared  no  life,  nor  yet  in  Nieuport,  for  there 
was  none  to  share." 

Woodworth  played  no  small  part  in  the  life  and  activi- 
ties of  the  section.  W.  Yorke  Stevenson,  who  succeeded 
him  as  leader  of  the  section  in  June,  1917,  wrote :  "Abso- 
lutely fearless,  of  remarkable  cheerfulness  under  the  most 
unpleasa^nt  circumstances,  a  born  leader,  he  made  war 
for  me  almost  seem  pleasant.  He  met  every  disagreeable 
happening  with  a  laugh  and  a  shrug.  A  born  athlete,  he 
was  always  the  first  to  make  us,  many  of  whom  were  dis- 
tinctly lethargic,  get  busy.  At  times  of  repos,  football, 
baseball  and  other  sports  kept  us  in  condition  and 
checked  the  *growsing'  and  *  Benny'  was  the  one  that 
started  all  the  games.    In  time  of  stress  he  made  the 

19 


BENJAMIN  RUSSELL  WOQDWQRTH 

most  cowardly  of  us  feel  ashamed.  Many  a  time  I  said 
to  myself,  *Well,  if  that  bird  can  do  it  I  suppose  we've 
got  to.  And  above  all  his  unfailing  cheerfulness  I  shall 
never  forget.  Of  all  the  bully  crowd  that  I  had  the  privi- 
lege of  knowing  he  stands  out  alone.  He  needs  no  monu- 
ment nor  written  words,  all  those  who  knew  him  can 
never  forget  'Woody.'" 

In  July,  1 91 6,  having  served  for  more  than  a  year  with 
the  section,  he  returned  to  America.  He  spent  some  time 
in  the  vicinity  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  getting  in 
touch  with  old  friends,  and  made  a  trip  to  the  Pacific 
Coast  to  see  his  mother  who  resides  in  San  Francisco. 
While  there  he  was  instrumental  in  collecting  the  money 
for  an  ambulance  which  he  subsequently  drove.  He  re- 
enlisted  in  October  and  returned  to  France,  rejoining  his 
old  section  in  the  Argonne,  and  the  following  March  he 
was  appointed  Chef  while  the  section  was  en  repos  at 
Vadelaincourt,  near  Verdun. 

His  term  of  leadership  was  to  be  brief.  Three  months 
later,  June  15,  191 7,  Wood  worth  was  instantly  killed 
while  riding  as  a  passenger  in  a  French  aeroplane.  The 
accident  occurred  as  he  and  Chatkoff,  a  pilot  from  an 
escadrille  near  Muizon  where  the  section  was  quartered, 
were  leaving  the  grounds  of  the  Lafayette  Escadrille  not 
far  from  Soissons.  One  of  his  comrades  wrote,  a  short 
time  afterward:  "Woody  was  buried  Sunday  morning, 
June  17th,  with  all  military  honors,  in  the  little  cemetery 
of  the  shattered  church  of  Chalons-sur-Vesle,  while  the 
guns  thundered.  Every  day  some  of  the  men  coming 
back  from  twenty-four  duty  at  the  front  line  posts  stop 
off  a  few  moments  at  the  little  cemetery  and  we  keep  his 
grave  covered  with  wild  flowers  plucked  near  the  lines." 


20 


PAUL  GANNETT  OSBORN 

"Youth  must  give  up  youth  itself,  and  give 
Even  its  life  —  that  the  ideals  of  youth 
May  thus  be  cherished  and  forever  live," 

It  was  on  his  first  night  of  service  at  the  front,  with  the 
American  Field  Service,  that  Paul  Gannett  Osborn  was 
called  upon  to  make  his  sacrifice.  His  little  span  of  ser- 
vice was  brief,  but  "the  swift,  clear  glow  of  sacrificial 
youth"  flamed  high,  before  it  died,  illuminating  all  it 
touched,  and  leaving  the  radiance  of  his  memory  to  bum 
through  the  years.  To  him  falls  the  sad  distinction  of 
being  the  first  American  killed  after  our  entrance  into  the 
war. 

Paul  Osborn  and  his  brother  together  joined  the 
American  Field  Service  with  the  Dartmouth  unit,  in 
May,  1 91 7.  Section  Twenty-eight,  of  which  Paul  was  a 
member,  received  its  baptism  of  fire  on  the  night  of 
June  2 1  St.  Driving  over  a  muddy  road,  near  Village 
Gascon,  Champagne,  Paul  came  upon  a  comrade's 
machine  stuck  in  a  shell  hole,  and  stopped  to  help,  despite 
a  heavy  German  barrage.  Before  the  car  could  be  extri- 
cated Paul  was  hit,  and  mortally  wounded.  He  was  hur- 
ried to  the  Farman  hospital,  near  Mourmelon-le-Grand, 
where  every  effort  was  made  to  save  his  life,  but  gangrene 
set  in  and  he  died  a  few  days  later.  Stanley  Hill,  a  fellow 
member  of  that  section,  who  himself  died  of  wounds  a 
year  later,  wrote  of  Osborn*s  courage  and  consideration 
in  those  last  days:  "Paul  was  wounded  on  Thursday 
night  but  fought  death  until  Tuesday  morning.  If  any- 
thing happens  to  me,  I  pray  God  that  I  may  be  as  noble, 
as  courageous,  and  as  thoughtful  of  others  as  Paul  was. 
One  of  the  first  things  he  did  was  to  ask  for  cigarettes  — 
he  does  not  smoke  himself —  to  give  to  the  blesses  and 
attendants  around  him.  About  the  last  thing  he  said 
was,  *  I  am  going  to  fight  this  and  win  out.'  Then  he  went 

to  sleep,  became  unconscious,  and  died just  as 

if  he  were  going  to  sleep.  He  lost  the  battle  of  life,  but  he 

21 


PAUL  GANNETT  OSBORN 


did  *win  out/  for  he  won  a  place  of  honor  in  eternal  life." 
Paul  Osbom  was  buried  with  all  the  honors  that  a  great 
nation  can  bestow.  The  Divisional  Surgeon,  speaking  at 
the  grave,  said  in  part :  "Ahead  of  your  armies  you  came, 
American  volunteers,  to  submit  yourselves  to  this  stern 
test,  and  one  of  you  has  already  sealed  with  his  blood 
the  close  fraternity  that  unites  you  to  the  people  of 
France."  General  Baratier,  of  Fashoda  fame,  closed  his 
beautiful  tribute  with  these  words:  "Soldier  Osbom, 
sleep  on  among  your  French  comrades,  fallen  like  you,  in 
glory !  Sleep  on  wrapped  in  the  folds  of  the  American 
flag,  in  the  shadow  of  the  banner  of  France ! "  * 

From  one  who  knew  him  well  comes  the  following : 
"Paul  Gannett  Osborn  was  a  splendid  type  of  young 
American  manhood.  His  was  a  buoyant  and  irrepres- 
sible spirit  that  enjoyed  life  to  the  full.  He  was  electrical 
with  life.  College  was  an  unbounded  joy  and  privilege 
to  him.  Vibrant  with  youth,  clean  and  strong  in  his  liv- 
ing, happy  in  comradeship,  there  was  underneath  a 
seriousness  of  outlook  and  purpose." 

The  Dartmouth  Alumni  Magazine  remarks: 

"  It  is  always  that  great  promise  of  youth,  thwarted  by  the 
pitiless  veto  of  war,  that  abides  as  a  never-ending  source  of 
grief  ;  unless  the  friends  and  families  of  these  boys  find  con- 
solation in  such  philosophy  as  that  of  Osborn *s  father  who  in  a 
letter  writes  this  brave  sentence  :  '  It  is  hard  to  do  so,  but  we 
try  to  think  that  our  boy  has  done  more  by  his  death  in  this 
noble  endeavor  than  he  could  do  in  any  other  way.'  " 

*Note:  Genpral  Baratier's  complete  address  appears  on  page  289, 
Volume  II,  of  the  History  of  the  American  Field  Service  in  France. 


22 


PAUL  GANNETT  OSBORN 

Born  June  24,  1894,  in  Rochester,  New  York.  Son  of  Albert  S.  and  Eliza- 
beth Dunbar  Osborn.  Home,  Montclair,  New  Jersey.  Educated  Mont- 
clair  High  School  and  Dartmouth  College,  Class  of  191 7.  Joined  American 
Field  Service,  May  5,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Twenty-eight.  Wounded  near 
Village  Gascon,  Champagne,  June  21.  Died  of  wounds,  June  26,  1917,  at 
Hopital  Farman.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Buried  Hopital  Farman,  near  Mour- 
melon-le-Grand,  Champagne. 


ARTHUR  MYERS 

Born  March  22,  1886,  in  New  York  City.  Only  son  of  Charles  and  Anna 
Freeborn  Myers.  Educated  Cornwall  Heights  and  Brooklyn  Polytechnic 
Preparatory  Schools.  Chubb  and  Sons,  Marine  Insurance,  two  years ;  in- 
surance broker  with  Myers  and  Eadie.  Joined  American  Field  Service^ 
March  2,  1917;  attached  Section  Fifteen  to  May.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Sent 
back  to  America,  July,  191 7,  suffering  from  shell-shock.  Died  at  home  in 
New  York  City,  October  4,  1917.  Buried  Greenwood  Cemetery,  New  York. 


ARTHUR  MYERS 

Arthur  Myers  was  a  mature  man  when  he  went  to 
France  in  the  American  Field  Service,  with  all  of  a  man's 
seriousness  of  purpose.  It  was  no  joyous  adventure  for 
him,  but  a  duty  carefully  thought  out  and  prepared  for. 
He  had  French  blood  in  his  veins  and  had  stimulated  a 
natural  and  profound  admiration  for  France  by  exten- 
sive reading  in  French  history.  He  felt  very  keenly  the 
obligation  of  America's  debt  to  her  and  the  necessity  of 
its  payment.  On  account  of  a  severe  illness  in  his  boy- 
hood that  threatened  the  loss  of  one  leg,  he  had  never 
been  physically  strong,  and  because  he  was  determined 
that  he  should  not  fail  in  his  undertaking,  he  spent  the 
summer  before  the  date  of  sailing,  travelling  in  the 
Canadian  Rockies  for  the  express  purpose  of  hardening 
himself  so  that  he  might  undergo  the  rigors  of  the  ser- 
vice with  the  others.  With  the  same  end  in  view  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  New  York  Athletic  Club. 

Early  in  191 7  he  sailed  for  France  via  Spain  and  on 
April  loth  he  set  out  for  the  front  at  the  wheel  of  a  car 
of  the  newly-formed  Section  Fifteen.  Fifty-four  hours 
after  he  had  driven  slowly  out  of  the  garden  at  21  rue 
Raynouard,  he  was  on  duty  as  a  front-line  poste  near 
Verdun,  and  was  experiencing  the  first  of  the  many  bom- 
bardments that  he  was  to  undergo  in  the  next  months. 
It  was  an  extraordinary  thing,  to  which  all  of  his  section 
will  testify,  that  in  a  comparatively  quiet  sector  he  should 
have  had  so  many  terrible  and  nerve-racking  experiences. 
So  often  did  his  appearance  at  the  front  line  seem  to  act 
as  a  signal  for  a  prolonged  bombardment  that  he  was 
nicknamed  "Obus"  by  his  comrades.  But  he  did  not 
falter  in  spite  of  the  almost  malignant  persecution  to 
which  he  was  subjected,  continuing  his  service  under 
difficult  and  oftentimes  apparently  impossible  condi- 
tions. On  one  occasion  he  volunteered  to  evacuate  a 
badly  wounded  man  from  a  little  poste  in  the  Bois 
d'Avocourt,  over  a  road  that  was  being  methodically 

23 


ARTHUR  MYERS 


"watered"  by  high-explosive  shells,  and  so  excited  the 
admiration  of  the  French  sergeant  in  charge  of  the  poste 
that  he  was  recommended  for  and  eventually  received 
the  Croix  de  Guerre.  He  was  promoted  to  the  office  of 
sous-chef  and  won  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  men. 
His  friend,  Earl  Osborn,  wrote,  "As  chief  of  Section  Fif- 
teen I  should  like  again  to  bear  witness  to  the  bravery 
and  devotion  of  Arthur  Myers." 

"Then  we  noticed  a  change  in  him,"  wrote  one  of  his 
closest  friends  in  the  section.  "He  kept  by  himself  and 
•seemed  morose We  little  thought  it  was  a  symp- 
tom of  that  common  disease  *  shell-shock,'  which  so  often 
claims  the  strongest  and  best."  He  kept  bravely  on  till 
one  day  after  a  particularly  frightful  experience,  as  he 
wrote  later  from  Paris,  "I  got  back  to  the  section  and 

felt  good  for  nothing  but  to  lie  on  my  back and 

wonder  when  the  pains  in  my  head  would  let  up."  He 
was  sent  back  to  Paris  to  rest  and  for  a  time  he  seemed 
to  rally,  confidently  expecting  to  return  to  the  section ; 
but  his  weakened  constitution  had  received  a  severer 
shock  than  he  realized,  and  in  July  he  was  sent  home  to 
America.  He  grew  steadily  weaker  till  on  October  4, 
191 7,  he  died. 

Arthur  had  led  a  quiet,  cloistered  existence  in  his  home, 
his  desires  leading  him  to  books  and  music  rather  than  to 
people  and  conversation.  His  sacrifice  in  going  to  the 
war  was  all  the  finer,  for  he  gave  up  completely  and  ir- 
revocably the  things  he  loved,  that  were  so  much  a  part 
of  him, —  his  home,  his  books, —  to  enter  upon  a  task 
for  which  he  had  no  inclination  nor  any  fitness  save  his 
unwavering  resolution.  In  the  words  of  a  member  of  his 
section,  "Because  war  had  no  romance  or  attraction  for 
him,  Arthur  saw  only  too  clearly  its  horror  and  its  trag- 
edy, and  yet  he  was  not  afraid.  His  was  a  far  higher 
order  of  courage,  a  far  greater  measure  of  devotion !" 


24 


GEORGE  FREDERICK  NORTON 

Far  afield  some  men  travel  adventuring,  and  return 
grown  old,  to  die  in  their  own  soft  beds,  dreaming  of 
great  days  that  are  past.  Not  so  George  Frederick  Nor- 
ton, who  died  near  Reims  on  the  Western  Front  at  the 
height  of  his  adventure.  North  to  the  ice-fields  of  Green- 
land with  Peary,  south  to  Ceylon,  westerly  to  the  Rock- 
ies and  Alaska,  and  around  the  world  he  had  travelled, — 
exploring,  hunting,  studying,  and  making  friends.  He 
returned  to  farm  with  his  brother,  William  P.  Norton, 
near  Goshen,  New  York,  only  to  have  the  war  call  him 
away  again ;  and  this  slim,  quiet  gentleman,  judged  too 
old  for  aviation  or  even  for  the  draft  army,  sailed  for 
France,  hoping  later  to  transfer  to  his  country's  fighting 
forces.  But  before  American  troops  reached  the  front, 
he  had  been  killed  while  on  duty  with  the  French. 
"Fred'*  said  in  a  letter  left  behind  for  his  brother :  "My 
love  for  my  country  and  for  France  is  very  great.  I  ex- 
pect to  return,  but  if  not,  what  more  glorious  death 
could  a  man  die!" 

After  attending  school  at  Lawrenceville  and  studying 
law,  "Fred"  made  the  first  of  his  many  expeditions. 
There  followed  several  to  Wyoming  and  Alaska,  and  he 
brought  back  numerous  hunting  trophies,  among  them 
the  skull  of  the  extremely  rare  Alaskan  blue  bear,  and 
the  head  of  a  previously  unknown  grizzly,  now  called  the 
Norton  bear.  He  contributed  much  material  to  the 
Smithsonian  Institute,  made  a  study  of  the  glacial  bear 
for  Dr.  Merrian  of  the  Bureau  of  Biological  Survey,  and 
his  collection  of  bear  heads  in  Washington  came  to  be  one 
of  the  largest  and  most  complete  in  America.  In  1901, 
with  only  a  Japanese  servant,  "  Fred  "  made  a  trip  around 
the  world.  In  Egypt  he  contracted  typhoid  and  lay  for 
one  hundred  days  in  a  hospital  at  Colombo,  in  Ceylon, 
undergoing  two  operations  without  anesthesia,  before 
completing  his  voyage.  He  helped  finance  the  success- 
ful|Peary  expedition,  and  accompanied  it  on  the  "Eric" 

25 


GEORGE  FREDERICK  NORTON 


as  far  north  as  Etah,  narrowly  escaping  disaster  on  the 
return,  when  the  ship  struck  an  iceberg. 

"Fred"  had  meanwhile  been  in  partnership  with  his 
brother,  Ex  Norton,  in  Wall  Street,  but  after  eight  years 
took  up  farming  with  his  brother,  William  P.  Norton. 
This  home  life  he  dearly  loved  and  spoke  of  it  often  in 
France.  He  had  gone  through  many  strange  experiences, 
but  kept  always  his  simplicity  and  unaffected  enthusiasm 
for  worth  while  things. 

Three  times  he  was  rejected  for  the  air  service  as  be- 
yond their  maximum  age  limit  of  thirty-five.  He  then 
joined  the  Field  Service.  For  a  time  he  was  in  charge  of 
the  general  office  in  the  Passy  headquarters,  and  after  the 
long  days'  work,  "Fred"  found  his  enjoyment  in  the 
simplest  ways, —  sipping  citronnade  before  a  Passy  cafe, 
or  walking  the  winding  streets,  talking  of  the  days  ahead. 
At  his  own  urging  he  was  sent  to  the  front  with  Section 
One.  W.  Yorke  Stevenson,  the  commander,  wrote :  "Al- 
though only  out  with  us  a  short  time,  his  charming  per- 
sonality and  quiet,  unassuming  manner,  no  less  than  his 
marked  ability,  had  endeared  him  to  us  all." 

At  a  chateau  near  Ludes,  on  July  12,  191 7,  hardly  a 
fortnight  after  reaching  the  Section,  "Fred"  was  killed 
by  a  bursting  bomb.  He  was  buried  at  night  because  the 
village  was  in  view  of  the  Germans.  "  He  died  on  duty  at 
his  post,"  said  his  Chef,  "like  a  soldier  and  a  gentleman, 
in  a  great  cause."  He  was  a  fine-grained  American  of  the 
highest  type, —  courageous,  adventurous,  generous,  ani- 
mated by  the  highest  idealism, —  a  reserved,  undemon- 
strative Christian  gentleman.  As  "Fred's"  brother  says, 
" honest  and  loyal  with  all  people,  greatly  be- 
loved by  family  and  friends,  his  supreme  sacrifice  is  not 
in  vain,  for  Fred's  example  and  character  are  a  memory 
to  be  cherished  by  those  of  us  left." 


26 


GEORGE  FREDERICK  NORTON 

Born  October  28,  1876,  in  Elk  Grove,  Christian  County,  Kentucky.  Son  of 
Ex  and  Lucy  Moore  Norton.  Educated  at  Lawrenceville  School,  Class  of 
1894,  and  Staten  Island  Academy.  Partner  in  firm  Ex  Norton  &  Company, 
stockbrokers,  New  York  City,  eight  years.  Took  up  farming.  Orange 
County,  New  Jersey.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  26,  1917;  at- 
tached Section  One  Croix  de  Guerre,  Corps  d'Armee  citation.  Killed  at 
Ludes  by  aeroplane  bomb,  July  12,  191 7.  Buried  in  Ludes,  Marne.  Body 
subsequently  transferred  to  Moravian  Cemetery,  New  Dorp,  Staten  Island, 
New  York. 


HARMON  BUSHNELL  CRAIG 

Born  July  i,  1895,  in  Boston,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  John  and  Mary- 
Young  Craig.  Home,  Boston.  Massachusetts.  Educated  Brookline  High 
School  and  Harvard  University,  Class  of  1919.  Joined  American  Field  Ser- 
vice, February  19,  1917;  attached  Section  Two.  Died  July  16,  1917,  at 
Ville-sur-Cousances,  of  wounds  received  at  Dombasle,  Meuse,  July  15. 
Croix  de  Guerre  with  gold  star.    Buried  Ville-sur-Cousances,  Meuse. 


HARMON  BUSHNELL  CRAIG 

At  the  hospital  where  he  had  been  brought  mortally 
wounded,  Harmon  Bushnell  Craig  was  told  that  his  leg 
would  have  to  be  amputated.  Fully  conscious  and  suf- 
fering intensely,  he  smiled,  "Go  ahead.  I '11  only  have  to 

buy  one  shoe  then."   A  few  hours  later  he  died 

And  in  the  diary  he  had  kept  faithfully,  following  the 
entry  of  July  15th,  there  is  a  blank  sheet,  for  the  entries 
that  would  have  gone  on  that  page  are  written  in  red  in 
the  biggest  Book  of  all.    His  citation  for  work  at  this 

time  says:  " a  montrS,  notamment  les  28  et  2Q 

juin,  la  plus  grande  energie  en  accomplissant  son  service 
sur  une  route  decouverte  et  bombardee.'' 

"Ham"  was  a  member  of  the  class  of  1919  at  Harvard, 
when,  in  February,  191 7,  he  left  college  to  enter  the  Amer- 
ican Field  Service.  On  March  2d  he  landed  in  France, 
writing  in  his  diary,  "  It  is  wonderful  to  realize  that  I  am 
here  to  help !"  and  three  weeks  later  he  was  at  the  front 
as  a  member  of  Section  Two.  "Ham"  chafed  rather  at 
the  inactivity  of  the  comparatively  quiet  sector  in  the 
Argonne,  but  on  June  20th  he  returned  from  a  permis- 
sion of  six  days  spent  with  his  mother  in  Paris,  to  plunge 
into  the  work  and  danger  of  an  attack.  For  two  weeks  he 
toiled  almost  without  rest  on  the  Esnes-Montzeville 
roads  through  one  of  the  severest  ordeals  an  ambulance 
section  could  experience.  The  evening  of  July  15th,  as 
he  was  loading  wounded  into  his  car  in  the  village  of 
Dombasle,  near  Verdun,  Harmon  was  wounded  in  the 
right  leg,  when  a  shell  struck  only  a  few  feet  from  his  car, 
killing  three  brancardiers  and  severely  wounding  a  French 
lieutenant.  "Ham"  refused  to  allow  his  wounds  to  be 
dressed  until  the  Frenchman  had  been  made  comfortable, 
and  the  delay,  with  consequent  loss  of  blood,  undoubtedly 
lessened  his  own  chances.  He  died  next  morning,  at  two 
o'clock,  in  the  hospital  at  Ville-sur-Cousances. 

"Ham's"  character  was  as  many-sided  as  his  inter- 
ests were  numerous.    In  his  year  and  a  half  at  Harvard 

27 


HARMON  BUSHNELL  CRAIG 


he  won  a  place  on  the  editorial  board  of  the  daily  paper 
and  already  showed  such  knowledge  and  appreciation  of 
the  theater  that  older  men  predicted  a  brilliant  future 
as  an  actor  and  producer.  His  diary  —  in  his  five  months 
of  service  he  wrote  almost  30,000  words  —  is  valuable 
for  its  literary  worth  as  well  as  for  the  intimate,  beauti- 
ful picture  it  gives  us  of  his  personality.  It  is  written  with 
a  charmingly  light  touch  and  leavened  with  humor  in- 
cluding little  sketches  and  fragments  of  versification,  as : 

"Paint,  paint,  I'm  covered  with  paint  — 
There's  hardly  a  part  of  my  clothing  that  ain't." 

No  subject  was  too  dreary  for  the  sunny,  healthy  treat- 
ment of  his  pen,  and  his  observations  upon  the  serious 
questions  of  the  day  are  remarkable  for  their  keenness 
of  perception.  When  noticeable  lowering  of  Allied  morale 
marked  the  spring  of  191 7,  he  prophesied  that  "the  wave 
of  pessimism  will  recede  as  it  came,  leaving  hope  and  de- 
termination in  its  place."  He  read  a  great  deal  at  the 
front,  commenting  on  the  books  and  frequently  quoting 
passages  that  he  particularly  liked.  Describing  the  ex- 
periences of  a  night  ride  when  he  lost  his  way  in  the  rain 
and  blackness,  he  concluded  quite  simply:  "Darkness 
and  loneliness  can  certainly  exaggerate  one's  difficul- 
ties." He  loved  children  and  they  adored  him.  One  entry 
begins,  "Romped  about  the  fields  with  Madeleine  and 
Rene":  and  Paris  appealed  particularly  because  "it  is 
just  made  for  kids  with  its  big  parks  and  boulevards." 

One  of  the  many  friends  who  had  known  him  at  Har- 
vard and  in  the  Service  describes  him  as  "one  of  the 
most  beautiful,  friendly,  open  natures  I  have  ever  known, 
—  sturdy,  upright,  and  generous,"  and  a  friend  in  his 
section  cried  out  for  all  who  knew  him, 

" we  never  knew 

A  braver  heart, —  a  finer  man ! " 


28 


JAMES  WILSON  GAILEY 

Just  a  whole-hearted,  care-free  boy  —  that  was  the 
"Jim"  Gailey,  a  direct  descendant  of  Myles  Standish 
and  of  twelve  Revolutionary  figures,  who  sailed  for 
France  with  the  American  Field  Service  in  May,  191 7. 
Barely  two  months  of  active  war  service  and  he  had 
grown  to  man's  estate  with  "the  spirit  of  a  boy  and  the 
soul  of  a  man."  Gailey  gave  his  life  for  France  and 
America  those  brief  two  months  later. 

In  June  he  wrote  to  his  family,  "I  am  now  really  and 
truly  in  the  war.  All  the  realities  of  a  terrible  warfare 
have  been  opened  before  my  eyes.  For  three  years  I 
have  read  about  it  in  a  careless,  rather  unsympathetic 
manner,  but  my  heart  never  beat  faster  for  it  then.  Now 
I  am  interested,  heart  and  soul."  Before  young  Gailey 
had  been  in  France  two  months  he  was  cited  for  bravery. 
A  few  days  later  he  was  awarded  the  Croix  de  Guerre 
with  the  gold  star,  in  recognition  of  his  supreme  sacrifice. 

The  story  of  "Jim"  Gailey's  war  service  is  neces- 
sarily brief.  Enlisting  in  Section  Sixty-six  in  May,  191 7» 
he  was  sent  at  once  to  the  Chemin  des  Dames  region, 
then  a  theater  of  some  di  the  most  intense  fighting  on 
the  western  front.  For  three  weeks  previous  to  his  death, 
Gailey  and  his  companions  had  been  working  day  and 
night,  carrying  wounded  over  shell-pocked  roads  lighted 
only  by  occasional  flashes  from  rockets  far  above  the 
streams  of  moving  artillery,  troops,  and  other  traffic  of  war. 

On  the  night  of  July  25th,  Gailey,  hearing  of  another 
ambulance  stalled  by  shell  holes  and  ruins,  ran  to  a 
neighboring  poste  through  the  extremely  heavy  barrage 
and  transferred  the  wounded  from  the  damaged  car  to 
the  hospital.   For  this  he  received  his  Croix  de  Guerre. 

On  the  following  Sunday  morning,  the  twenty-ninth, 
just  after  dawn,  Gailey  and  his  companion,  Hamilton, 
were  loading  their  ambulance  with  wounded  when  a  shell 
struck  the  car,  killing  both  the  American  boys  and  two 
of  the  wounded  Frenchmen. 

29 


JAMES  WILSON  GAILEY 


They  were  buried  the  next  day  with  all  the  honors  of 
war.  General  Niessel,  commander  of  the  corps,  found 
time  despite  the  battle  to  deliver  the  address  of  tribute 
and  farewell.  Of  the  ceremony,  Colonel  Andrew  wrote, 
"Certainly  no  one  who  was  there  could  think  of  a  more 
fitting  or  moving  termination  of  any  human  life  than 
such  a  ceremony  on  the  soil  of  France  in  the  midst  of  so 
many  French  soldiers  and  American  boys  who  are  daily 
risking  all  that  they  have  and  can  hope  for  in  the  great 
cause." 

Among  the  many  tributes  to  Gailey,  the  following 
seemed  most  characteristic  of  the  boy.  His  closest  friend 
wrote:  "It  was  a  privilege  for  me  to  have  known  Jim 
and  to  have  driven  with  him.  No  braver  nor  more  gen- 
erous chap  ever  lived.  I  am  sure  Mr.  Rice  has  written 
you  of  Jim's  willingness  to  go  anywhere  at  all  times  and 
of  course  his  citation  and  Croix  de  Guerre  testify  that. 
But  even  this  does  not  wholly  tell  of  the  esteem  in  which 
he  was  held  by  the  whole  section  because  of  his  bravery 
and  cheerfulness." 

Another  companion  added,  "Several  times  I  had  an 
opportunity  to  see  him  display  his  energy  and  indif- 
ference to  personal  danger.  His  only  concern  was  the 
work  to  be  done,  and  his  spirit  was  a  real  help  to  the  men 
in  touch  with  him." 

The  Dean  of  Princeton  University  wrote  Gailey's 
mother,  "May  God  in  his  wisdom  enable  you,  with  the 
passage  of  time,  to  find  sweet  comfort  in  the  knowledge 
that  your  boy  was  one  of  Princeton's  honored  sons,  a 
splendid  friend,  a  fine  scholar,  a  lovable  gentleman,  an 
honest,  simple  man.  His  name  shall  always  be  honored 
as  one  who  gave  his  all  for  humanity  and  civilization  — 
a  splendid,  a  beloved  Prince tonian." 


30 


JAMES  WILSON  GAILEY 

Born  July  20,  1895,  in  New  Park,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  Joseph  A.  and 
Vilura  Wilson  Gailey.  Educated  Fawn  Township  High  School,  Perkiomen 
Seminary,  Pennsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  Princeton  University,  Class  of 
191 7.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  26,  191 7;  attached  Section 
Sixty-six.  Killed  by  shell,  July  29,  191 7,  Chemin  des  Dames.  Croix  de 
Guerre.   Buried  Beaurieux,  Aisne. 


PERLEY  RAYMOND  HAMILTON 

Born  October  30,  1892,  in  Clinton,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  John  and  Bertha 
Newman  Hamilton.  Educated  Clinton  High  School,  Fenway  School  of  Art, 
Boston,  and  New  York  Military  Academy.  Reportorial  work,  Clinton 
"Times,"  and  Salesman.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  June  9,  191 7  ;  at- 
tached Section  Sixty-six.  Killed  by  shell,  July  29,  191 7,  at  Village  Negre, 
Chemin  des  Dames,  near  Craonne.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Buried  Beaurieux, 
Aisne.  Body  to  be  transferred  to  Woodlawn  Cemetary,  Clinton,  Massa- 
chusetts. 


PERLEY  RAYMOND  HAMILTON 

Late  in  the  night  of  July  28,  1917,  Perley  Raymond 
Hamilton  sat  at  a  little  table  in  a  corner  of  an  ahri 
crowded  with  groaning  wounded,  writing  a  hasty  note  to 
his  mother  by  the  light  of  a  flickering  candle-end.  He 
had  just  received  his  first  letter  from  her  since  he  left 
home  and  he  was  anxious  to  let  her  know  his  joy  in  it  and 
to  assure  her  that  all  was  well  with  him.  "  I  am  feeling 
fine  and  strong,"  he  wrote,  "and  I  can  make  up  the  sleep 
when  the  battle  calms  down  a  bit."  It  had  been  forty- 
eight  hours  since  he  had  last  slept,  but  he  felt  it  more  im- 
portant to  comfort  his  mother  than  to  take  the  rest  for 
which  his  whole  tired  body  cried  out.  He  was  forced  to 
stop,  he  concluded,  because  "  I  am  to  leave  with  a  load 
of  blesses  in  a  few  minutes  and  must  have  things  ready 
for  them."  He  sealed  the  letter  and  climbed  out  of  the 
abri.  Shells  were  falling  nearby  and  the  eclats  whined 
past  occasionally,  rattling  against  the  doorway.  He 
cranked  his  car  while  his  companion,  James  Gailey,  as- 
sisted the  loading  of  the  wounded.  And  then  suddenly 
it  happened.  There  was  a  quick,  terrifying  shock  —  and 

blackness Their  comrades  found  "Ham"  bowed 

over  the  steering  wheel,  still  "on  duty." 

Perley  was  a  student  of  the  New  York  Military  Acad- 
emy at  the  time  that  he  joined  the  American  Field  Ser- 
vice. He  was  a  talented  artist  and  musician  and  as  a 
cadet  had  held  the  rank  of  Principal  Musician  and  later 
of  Senior  First  Lieutenant.  The  Academy  paper  de- 
scribed him  as  ,"  always  extremely  popular  with  the  whole 
cadet  corps,  for  he  was  not  only  a  gifted  musician  but 
also  one  of  those  cheerful,  optimistic,  straightforward 
natures  which  make  friends  without  effort."  On  June  7, 
191 7,  he  sailed  on  the  Espagne  and  within  a  month  he 
was  working  in  the  midst  of  the  fierce  battle  being  raged 
for  the  possession  of  Craonne  Plateau.  The  letters  he 
wrote  in  the  short  time  before  his  death  are  remarkable 
for  the  depth  of  their  feeling  and  their  power  of  descrip- 

31 


PERLEY  RAYMOND  HAMILTON 


tion.    No  one  who  has  experienced  an  air-raid  can  read 

the  following  without  a  thrill  of  understanding.  " 

As  the  purr  of  the  motor  appears  to  be  directly  overhead 
there  is  a  quick  scampering  of  people  and  then  a  deadly 
silence,  for  in  that  awful  moment  before  the  crash  all 
things  seem  still.'' 

He  was  quick  and  sympathetic  in  his  appreciation  of 
the  French  and  thoroughly  happy  in  serving  them ;  so 
it  is  fitting  that  death  should  have  come  to  him  while 
he  was  in  the  very  act  of  bringing  aid  and  comfort  to 
their  wounded.  No  other  ending  of  his  life  could  have 
been  more  perfect  in  his  own  eyes  or  more  beautiful  as  we 
see  it.  And  his  service  was  appreciated.  General  Niessel, 
the  commander  of  the  army  corps  that  had  so  stubbornly 
resisted  the  German  onslaught  along  the  Chemin  des 
Dames,  attended  the  funeral  in  person  and  pronounced 
the  last  farewell  as  he  placed  the  Croix  de  Guerre  upon 
the  coffin. 

Perley's  section  leader,  William  Gorham  Rice,  Jr., 
voiced  the  feeling  of  the  section.  "  *  Ham '  has  more  than 
our  undying  respect.  He  won  our  love  and  so  our  sym- 
pathy      For  he  was  always  cheery  and  helpful 

and  ready  to  do  more  than  was  asked  of  him."  Rice 
tells  of  having  asked  "Ham"  a  short  time  before  his 
death  to  work  out  a  design  to  be  painted  on  the  cars  of 
the  section.  "  In  a  few  days  he  showed  me  a  fine  com- 
position with  the  motto  'Tour jours  pret^  Soon  after, 
when  the  attack  started,  though  still  weak  from  a  recent 
illness  he  declared  himself  ready  for  anything,  as  he 
always  was,  even  if  he  had  to  drive  through  gas,  though, 
as  Rice  said,  "he  must  have  dreaded  that,  for  we  feared 
the  mask  and  his  asthma  might  choke  him."  He  lived 
true  to  his  own  motto,  like  the  soldier  that  he  was, 
**Tourjours   pret.'' 


32 


JOHN  VERPLANCK  NEWLIN 

John  Verplanck  Newlin  met  death  while  still  but'^a 
lad  of  nineteen,  yet  there  is  compensation  in  the  thought 
that  what  he  gave  was  a  life  still  fresh  with  the  dreams 
of  youth  and  untouched  by  any  disillusionments.  As 
one  of  his  friends  at  Princeton  said.  "He  had  such  a 
sense  of  getting  the  most  out  of  life."  And  it  is  exactly 
this  quality  which  stands  out  so  clearly  in  Jack's  letters 
written  during  the  brief  month  he  spent  at  the  front. 
Ten  days  before  his  death  and  just  as  the  section  was 
beginning  work  in  the  Verdun  sector  where  he  was  hit, 
he  wrote:  "The  atmosphere  and  daily  routine  of  the 
life  up  here  is  so  entirely  different  from  our  life  in  back 
of  the  lines  that  I  feel  I  am  living  in  a  dream.  But  the 
dream  is  so  horribly  delightful  and  weird  that  I  don't 
want  to  wake  up.  I  can't  say  that  I  love  it, —  that,  my 
straight-laced  countrymen  might  consider  sacrilege, — 
but  I  am  fascinated  by  it  and  love  the  excitement  of  it." 

That  this  is  not  the  mere  exuberance  of  youth,  un- 
backed by  the  sterner  qualities  which  work  at  the  front 
demanded,  the  following  from  a  letter  by  his  section 
leader,  who  was  wounded  by  the  same  shell,  will  show : 
"Jack  was  in  every  way  the  best  man  in  the  section, 
always  ready  to  do  more  than  his  share,  always  cheerful, 
never  tiring.  He  was  my  best  friend  out  there  as  well 
as  the  man  I  could  always  count  on.  It  was  always 
upon  him  that  I  called  for  a  little  more  when  it  seemed 
that  the  men  were  tiring,  and  he  never  failed  me.  He 
met  his  end  in  the  same  spirit,  smiling  and  brave.  We 
were  brought  down  together  to  the  base  hospital  and 
never  in  that  long  drive  did  he  make  a  sign  that  he  was 
suffering." 

"Jack"  Newlin's  military  career  was  short.  A  mem- 
ber of  the  class  of  191 9  at  Princeton,  where  he  had  been 
art  editor  on  the  "Tiger"  and  an  editor  of  the  "Litt" 
magazine,  he  attended  Plattsburg  during  the  summer  of 
1 91 6  and  in  May  of  the  following  year  left  college  to 

33 


JOHN  VERPLANCK  NEWLIN 


enlist  irf  the  American  Field  Service.  His  section, 
S.  S.  U.  29,  left  Paris  on  June  30,  191 7,  spent  about 
three  weeks  in  the  vicinity  of  Bar-le-Duc,  and  on  July 
23rd  started  work  at  the  front  a  little  to  the  west  of 
Verdun.  It  was  at  the  poste  of  Montzeville  on  the  night 
of  August  3rd,  that  a  shell,  landing  near  the  entrance  of 
the  dug-out,  wounded  him  severely  just  as  he  was  on  the 
point  of  starting  his  car.  He  was  rushed  to  the  hospital 
at  Fleury  where  he  was  operated  on  the  following  evening. 
The  next  day  he  rallied  sufficiently  to  see  some  of  his 
comrades  and  to  receive  his  citation  and  Croix  de  Guerre, 
but  died  about  midnight. 

Madame  Jacquemaire,  the  daughter  of  M.  Clemen- 
ceau,  who  was  a  nurse  in  the  hospital  in  which  he  died 
wrote  in  a  very  touching  letter  to  his  mother:  '' Malgre 
les  efforts  de  tons,  le  brave  enfant  s'est  etient  doucement  et 
sans  souffrance  entre  nos  bras.  Le  Commandant  Mil- 
itaire  lui  avait  fait  remettre  pour  sa  bravoure  les  plus 
hautes  recompenses,  la  Medaille  Militaire  et  la  Croix  de 
Guerre.     II  a  contemple  ces  belles  recompenses  avec  une 

joie  profonde Je  suis  fiere  d' avoir  connu  voire 

admirable  enfant.' ' 

And  a  final  tribute  from  a  friend  in  the  Ambulance 
Service  cannot  be  omitted  :  "I  knew  Jack  at  Princeton. 
I  as  well  as  every  one  who  was  associated  with  him  at 
College  felt  his  attraction,  his  keenness,  and  his  fineness. 
We  felt  that  he  was  someone  whom  it  was  not  only  an 

opportunity  but  a  privilege  to  know You  may 

mourn  him  as  a  son  but  you  can  never  forget  that  he 
met  death  as  fairly  as  any  man  has  ever  done.'* 


34 


JOHN  VERPLANCK  NEWLIN 

Born  May  i6,  1898,  in  Ardmore,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  Richard  M.  and 
Alice  Eisenbrey  Newlin.  Home,  Whitford,  Pennsylvania.  Educated  Haver- 
ford  School,  Pennsylvania,  and  Princeton  University,  Class  of  1919.  Platts- 
burg  Camp,  1916.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  26,  191 7  ;  attached 
Section  Twenty-nine.  Wounded  August  3rd,  Montzeville.  Died  of  wounds, 
night  of  August  5,  191 7.  Croix  de  Guerre,  Medaille  Militaire.  Buried 
Fleury-sur-Aire,  Meuse.  Body  transferred  to  American  Military  Cemetery, 
Romagne  sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 


PAUL  CODY  BENTLEY 

Born  September  22,  1895,  in  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Son  of  Frederick  William 
and  Josephine  Cody  Bentley.  Home,  Chicago,  Illinois.  Educated  Chicago 
schools,  University  of  Chicago,  and  Harvard  University,  Class  of  191 7. 
Plattsburg  Camps,  191 5  and  1916.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  19, 
191 7;  attached  Section  Sixty-five.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Died  September  16, 
191 7,  of  wounds  received  September  13,  191 7,  near  Fismes.  Buried  at  St. 
Gilles,  Marne.    Body  transferred  to  Seringes-et-Nesles,  Aisne. 


PAUL  CODY  BENTLEY 

In  September,  191 7,  officers  commissioned  at  the  first 
officers'  training  camps  were  mobilized  for  overseas  ser- 
vice. In  September,  191 7,  Paul  Cody  Bentley,  whose 
eye- trouble  had  spoiled  his  chances  for  the  American 
Army,  was  wounded  in  battle  and  died  on  the  Chemin 
des  Dames.  An  editorial  in  the  Chicago  Post  remarks 
"that  this  young  man  who  would  just  be  going  to  the 
Rockford  Training  Camp,  had  he  waited  for  a  call  to 
the  new  army,  has  now  volunteered,  served  at  the  front, 
and  met  a  soldier's  death.     All  honor  to  his  memory  ! " 

Months  before  his  departure  Paul  told  his  parents  of 
his  desire  to  go  to  France.  This  roused  so  great  anxiety 
and  such  immediate  opposition  that  Paul,  absolutely 
determined  in  his  own  mind  as  to  the  rightness  of  his 
course,  made  no  further  mention  of  his  plans.  They 
were,  however,  quite  final  and  definite,  waiting  only  the 
completion  of  his  college  obligations.  In  May,  Paul 
wrote  his  mother,  forgetting,  as  sons  must  in  such  mo- 
ments, the  bitterness  that  tinges  the  pride  of  mothers 
who  see  their  children  go  from  them  as  men  to  war :  "  I 
am  sorry  you  should  be  so  upset there  is  prac- 
tically   no    danger Nothing    can    make    me 

change  my  mind."  Unadorned  in  his  own  eyes  by  any 
trappings  of  prowess  Paul  was,  as  he  said,  "only  doing 
what  thousands  of  others  are  doing." 

Paul  was  descended  on  both  sides  from  old  colonial 
families  active  in  the  early  wars.  He  received  his 
schooling  in  Chicago.  After  some  months  of  surveying 
on  the  Pacific  Coast  and  a  semester  at  Chicago  Uni- 
versity, he  entered  Harvard,  Class  of  1917.  "A  faithful 
and  a  brilliant  student,"  said  a  friend  of  an  earlier  col- 
lege generation,  Merritt  Starr,  "he  was  a  leader  among 
his  companions,  and  a  justly  distinguished  favorite 
with  his  superiors."  He  had  no  ambitions  for  social 
prominence  or  wide  popularity.  His  circle  of  friends 
was  a  steadfast  group,  whose  feeling  went  deep  and 

35 


PAUL  CODY  BENTLEY 


meant  much.  He  left  college  before  graduation,  having 
attended  the  two  Plattsburg  summer  camps  and  been  a 
corporal  in  the  Harvard  Regiment. 

Bentley  sailed  for  France  on  May  19,  191 7,  and  went 
to  the  front  with  Section  Sixty-five  of  the  Field  Service, 
where  he  exhibited  ingrained  qualities  of  faithfulness 
and  cheerful  disregard  of  self.  The  latter  colors  his 
letters.  Redfield  of  his  section  said  "Bentley  was  one 
of  our  best  drivers.  He  never  complained.  He  took 
dangers  as  they  came  without  flinching.  Everybody 
who  came  in  contact  with  him  admired  him." 

On  September  nth  Bentley  wrote,  "I  am  still  very 
uncertain  as  to  what  I  shall  do  next.  But  uncertainty 
is  the  main  characteristic  of  the  war.  Everything  is 
uncertain "  Two  days  later  during  a  gas  at- 
tack, his  loaded  car  was  struck  by  a  shell,  as  he  drove 
through  the  barrage  and  Paul,  in  the  words  of  his  citation, 
''lui-m^me  trSs  grievement  blesse,  a  continue  a  conduire 
jusqua  Vepuisement  de  ses  forces.**  At  the  hospital  he 
rallied  bravely  for  a  time,  then  grew  weaker,  and  died 
on  September  i6th. 

"Very  few  of  the  world's  successful  lives,"  says  Merritt 
Starr,  "attain  such  measure  of  ideals  sacredly  preserved, 
of  danger  bravely  dared,  of  success  so  nobly  achieved, 
of  recognition  so  worthily  won." 

"Bentley"  writes  a  comrade,  "was  a  true  man.  He 
died  as  he  lived,  bravely."  And  in  the  words  of  Paul's 
mother:  "He  helped.  And  knowing  that  he  was  con- 
tent." Later  she  added:  "He  earned  eight  diplomas 
in  his  life  time,  but  his  real  graduation,  his  real  com- 
mencement of  immortal  life,  came  on  Sunday  morning, 
September  16,  191 7." 


36 


DOUGLAS  MacMONAGLE 

"  I  KNEW  that  Douglas  MacMonagle  would  be  among  the 
first  to  get  into  the  war  on  the  French  side/'  The 
speaker  was  a  Calif ornian  inquiring  early  in  191 6  at  the 
Headquarters  of  the  Field  Service  about  the  San  Fran- 
ciscans at  the  front. 

"Mac,"  as  his  friends  in  the  Field  Service  called  him 
from  the  very  first,  had  just  been  sent  to  join  Section 
Three  at  the  front  in  Alsace.  It  was  in  the  dead  of 
winter  and  there  was  some  fear  lest  the  new  and  inex- 
perienced men  might  not  be  able  to  cope  in  the  beginning 
with  the  hardships  and  difficulties  of  the  work. 

"MacMonagle,"  reported  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
Service,  "wants  to  get  to  the  front  at  once  and  refuses 
to  give  one  thought  to  the  idea  that  he  will  have  any 
trouble  doing  the  work.  He  says  that  he  has  been  at 
sea  and  takes  to  rough  weather  like  a  duck  to  water, 
that  he  knows  a  Ford  from  the  ground  up,  and  that 
nothing  the  Germans  can  do  to  him  matters  at  all." 

In  every  particular  his  self-confidence  was  justified. 
From  the  first  he  was  able  to  face  every  hardship, 
whether  of  weather,  bad  and  bombarded  roads,  or  long 
hours.  And  above  all,  from  the  day  he  first  came  within 
sound  of  the  guns  to  the  moment  he  fell  in  gallant  aerial 
combat  against  heavy  odds,  nothing  that  the  Germans 
did  or  threatened  to  do  to  him  "mattered  at  all." 

After  serving  for  some  months  with  Section  Three 
MacMonagle  was  transferred  to  Section  Eight.  Austin 
Mason,  his  new  chef,  wrote  in  his  diary  at  that  time : 

"MacMonagle  joined  us  on  the  eve  of  the  hardest 
and  most  dangerous  work  the  Section  has  had  to  face. 
That  he  had  had  some  previous  experience  was  a  great 
help  and  he  lived  up  to  all  our  expectations.  He  was 
fearless  and  energetic  and  did  his  job  well.  There  were 
four  of  us  at  Fort  de  Tavannes  when  the  Germans  began 
to  demolish  it  with  sixteen  inch  shells,  and  he  was  un- 
questionably  the   calmest.     Rogers   left  amid   such   a 

37 


DOUGLAS  MacMONAGLE 


rain  of  shells  that  it  did  not  seem  possible  that  he  could 
get  through.  Then  'Mac'  pulled  out  cool  as  could 
be " 

A  month  later  MacMonagle  was  the  first  man  in 
Section  Eight  to  be  awarded  the  Croix  de  Guerre.  "All 
the  doctors  at  our  post"  came  back  a  report  to  Paris, 
"are  loud  in  their  praise  of  MacMonagle.  With  iron  self- 
possession,  he  loaded  his  car  during  a  bombardment  that 
destroyed  the  building  used  as  a  dressing  station." 

In  September,  191 6,  he  left  the  Field  Service  to  enlist 
in  the  French  Aviation  Corps.  He  was  trained  at 
Avord  and  Pau,  where  he  quickly  came  to  be  admired 
by  his  new  comrades  for  the  same  qualities  which  had 
distinguished  him  in  the  Field  Service.  When  he  fin- 
ished his  training,  in  May,  191 7,  he  was  considered  a 
good  enough  pursuit  pilot  to  be  attached  at  once  to  the 
famous  Lafayette  Squadron. 

He  flew  steadily  and  with  increasing  success  from  the 
time  he  reached  the  front  until  he  was  brought  down 
September  24,  191 7,  while  on  an  early-morning  patrol, 
in  a  fierce  fight  with  eight  German  planes.  He  fell 
behind  the  French  lines  and  was  buried  at  Triaucourt, 
the  entire  Lafayette  Squadron  and  many  French  officers 
as  well  attending  the  funeral,  a  company  of  American 
engineers  firing  the  last  salute  over  his  grave. 

Douglas  MacMonagle  was  loved  for  his  warmhearted- 
ness. He  was  admired  for  his  fearlessness.  He  came 
early  to  the  great  struggle  and  he  did  good  work ;  but 
the  value  of  his  services  to  the  cause  in  which  he  gave  his 
life  is  to  be  measured  by  the  courage  which  he  so  often 
inspired  in  others  as  well  as  by  his  own  achievements. 


38 


DOUGLAS  MacMONAGLE 

Born  February  19,  1892,  in  San  Francisco,  California.  Son  of  Beverly  and 
Minnie  C.  MacMonagle.  Educated  Hackley  School,  Tarrytown,  New 
York;  Berkeley  School,  California;  Switzerland  and  Germany;  and  Uni- 
versity of  California,  one  and  one-half  years,  Class  of  191 7.  Joined  Ameri- 
can Field  Service,  December  30,  191 5  ;  attached  Section  Three  to  May  20, 
1916;  Section  Eight,  June  20  to  September  20,  1916.  Croix  de  Guerre. 
Enlisted  French  Aviation,  October  3,  19 16.  Trained  Avord  and  Pau.  At- 
tached Escadrille  N124  (Lafayette).  Killed  in  combat,  September  24,  191 7, 
near  Verdun.  Croix  de  Guerre  with  palm.  Buried  Triaucourt,  Meuse. 
Body  transferred  to  American  Cemetery,  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon 
Meuse. 


GERALD  COLMAN  KING 

Born  November  22,  1878,  in  Bellows  Falls,  Vermont.  Son  of  Brevet 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Cornelius  Low  King.  Educated  St.  Mark's  School, 
Southboro,  Massachusetts,  and  Pomfret  School,  Connecticut.  U.S. Army, 
Spanish-American  War,  as  volunteer.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
February  14,  191 7;  attached  Section  Eight.  Invalided  to  United  States, 
May,  191 7.  Died  in  hospital.  New  York  City,  September  27,  191 7.  Buried 
in  Grace  Church  Cemetery,  Jamaica,  Long  Island,  New  York. 


GERALD  COLM AN  KING 

To  be  obliged  to  fight  the  Spanish-American  War  as  a 
bed-ridden  fever  patient,  and  then  to  end  his  effort  in  the 
World  War  on  his  back  in  a  New  York  hospital,  was  the 
desolate  lot  of  Gerald  Colman  King,  volunteer  in  both  of 
these  wars. 

Although  he  was  permitted  to  strike  no  direct  blow  in 
either  instance,  it  is  doubtful  if  he  could  have  contributed 
more  to  the  final  victory,  and  to  the  development  of  his 
own  character,  than  he  did  by  his  fortitude,  his  loyalty, 
and  his  unembittered  acceptance  of  what  fate  had  in 
store  for  him.  A  grumbling  victory  is  in  no  way 
preferable  to  a  cheerful  defeat. 

Gerald  King  had  his  first  taste  of  military  service  when 
he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  American  Army  in  the  war 
against  Spain  in  1898.  He  was  denied  active  service 
through  contracting  typhoid  fever  almost  immediately, 
and  was  confined  at  Camp  Chickamauga. 

When  America  entered  the  War,  King  was  too  old  to 
enlist  in  the  regular  army,  so  he  chose  at  once  the  only 
other  possible  alternative  for  getting  to  France  to  aid 
that  country  for  which  he  felt  a  very  deep  affection, 
fostered  by  blood  ties.  He  enlisted  with  the  American 
Field  Service. 

He  had  served  with  Section  Eight  at  the  front  but 
little  more  than  a  month  before  he  was  taken  seriously 
ill  and  sent  to  a  hospital  in  Paris.  In  May  he  was 
invalided  home  to  the  United  States.  He  was  taken 
from  the  steamer  direct  to  the  hospital,  where  he  died, 
September  2'],  1917  —  no  less  a  victim  of  the  cruelty  of 
war  than  those  who  fell  in  the  front  line  trenches.  He 
lies  now  in  the  little  graveyard  of  Christ  Church, 
Jamaica,  where,  for  many  generations,  the  members  of 
his  family  have  been  buried. 

Gerald  King  was  born  at  Bellows  Falls,  Vermont, 
November  22,  1878.  He  was  the  son  of  Brevet  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Cornelius  Low  King,  and  grandson   of 

39 


GERALD  COLMAN  KING 


Charles  King,  former  president  of  Columbia  College. 
His  mother  was  Janet  De  Kay,  daughter  of  James  De 
Kay  —  all  of  New  York. 

The  Brattleboro  Reformer  paid  the  following  tribute 
to  Gerald  King  on  learning  of  his  death :  "The  old  boys 
of  Company  I  of  Brattleboro,  who,  in  1898,  when  war 
against  Spain  was  declared,  volunteered  their  services  to 
their  country,  just  as  thousands  of  a  younger  generation 
have  been  doing  in  the  past  few  months,  feel  a  sense  of 
personal  loss  in  the  death,  in  a  New  York  hospital,  of 
Gerald  King  of  Bellows  Falls.  Gerald  was  a  soldier  of 
fortune,  a  scion  of  a  distinguished  military  family.  He 
was  only  a  youngster  when  he  went  with  the  Brattleboro 
boys  to  the  fever-infested  camp  at  Chickamauga,  but  he 
was  possessed  of  an  independent  income,  and  when  his 
little  'pink*  checks  arrived,  he  shared  his  patrimony 
freely  with  his  less  fortunate  comrades. 

"His  good  cheer  and  kindliness  will  always  be  remem- 
bered by  those  who  were  associated  with  him  in  the  days 
when  the  young  soldiers  waited  and  waited  in  unsanitary 
conditions  for  orders  to  active  service  which  never  came. 
In  recent  years  King  has  been  well-known  as  an  actor, 
but  he  turned  aside  from  the  stage  to  go  to  France  as  an 
ambulance  driver,  and  while  there  was  stricken  with 
paralysis,  which  terminated  in  death  in  a  New  York 
hospital  after  he  had  been  brought  back  helpless  to  this 
country." 


40 


HENRY  HARRISON  CUMINGS,  3D 

Descended  from  a  line  of  military  forebears  dating  back 
to  the  days  of  the  War  of  Independence,  Henry  Harrison 
Cumings,  3d,  felt  the  urge  of  service  so  strongly  that  he 
was  one  of  the  first  young  Americans  to  reach  the  front 
under  the  American  flag. 

Highly  sensitive  to  the  outrages  being  perpetrated  in 
France  and  Belgium,  Cumings'  enthusiastic  and  right- 
eous nature  revolted  against  German  aggression.  In 
March,  191 7,  he  joined  the  American  Field  Service  and 
sailed  for  France,  to  drive  an  ambulance. 

When  the  United  States  entered  the  war,  a  call  was 
made  by  France  upon  the  ambulance  service  for  volun- 
teers for  a  munitions  transport  branch.  Cumings  was 
one  of  the  first  ambulanciers  to  join  the  munitions 
transport  service.  A  companion  wrote  at  the  time 
"Henry  was  to  go  to  the  front  in  a  few  days  with  Sec- 
tion Eighteen.  The  transport  service  was  considered 
more  of  a  man's  job,  more  arduous,  difficult,  and 
dangerous,  and  certainly  of  much  use  to  the  French 
government.  I  soon  saw  that  Henry  had  his  heart  set 
upon  being  identified  with  the  latter  service,  and  one 
day  he  spoke  of  wanting  to  change,  so  we  both  went  to 
the  office  and  got  changed  to  T.  M.  U.  526." 

Cumings  was  in  the  American  camion  units  that 
carried  to  the  French  batteries  much  of  the  amunition 
used  in  the  long  and  grueling  battle  of  the  Chemin  des 
Dames  which  culminated  in  the  glorious  French  victory 
of  the  fall  of  191 7. 

His  enlistment  expired  in  September,  191 7.  Pre- 
viously Cumings  had  attempted  to  enroll  in  the  French 
aviation  forces.  He  was  rejected  because  of  poor  eye- 
sight. Anxious  to  re-enlist  then  in  the  camion  service, 
he  agreed  in  deference  to  his  mother's  wishes  to  return 
to  the  United  States,  to  rejoin  the  army  on  this  side. 

Cumings,  somewhat  envied  by  overseas  comrades, 
sailed  from  France  on  the  ill-fated  transport  "Antilles." 

41 


HENRY  HARRISON  CUMINGS,  3d 


Three  days  out,  early  in  the  morning  of  October  17, 
191 7,  the  boat  was  torpedoed.  It  sank  inside  four 
minutes.     Cumings  was  among  those  lost. 

His  letters  to  his  mother  proved  him  a  man  of  rare 
sensibilities,  with  an  instinctive  appreciation  of  all  that 
is  good  and  fine.  Even  from  the  war  he  took  the  good 
and  left  the  dross.  His  duty  he  assumed  as  a  matter 
of  course,  and  apparently  found  ample  compensation 
for  the  horrors  and  hardships  in  the  satisfaction  and  joy 
he  felt  in  contributing  his  share  toward  a  just  and  early 
peace. 

Henry  was  a  talented  musician  and  a  pianist  of 
merit.  "Music  was  a  large  part  of  Henry,"  says  his 
mother.  "It  was  his  very  being."  Highly  intellectual, 
and  gifted  with  an  unusually  responsive  nature,  war 
was  naturally  repulsive  to  him.  But  never  for  a  moment 
did  he  lose  sight  of  the  ideals  behind  it,  which  he  was 
helping  to  defend.  One  of  his  close  companions  wrote 
to  the  mother :  "From  the  beginning  Henry  always  put 
all  his  energy  into  his  work,  always  doing  it  well.  As 
sergeant  and  later  as  commander  of  the  section  I  have 
nothing  but  the  highest  praise  for  his  work  and  for  his 
attitude  toward  whatever  hardships  came  his  way. 
Our  work  was  often  hard  and  very  trying,  but  he  was 
one  of  those  who  never  grumbled,  but  always  showed 
that  fine  spirit  which  is  so  much  needed  over  here." 

Henry  Cumings  was  born  June  20,  1897,  at  Tiona, 
Pennsylvania,  of  patriotic  New  England  stock,  his 
families  on  both  sides  having  been  represented  in  the 
War  of  Independence  and  every  succeeding  war  in  which 
this  country  has  been  engaged.  He  carried  out  the  tra- 
dition of  his  house. 


42 


HENRY  HARRISON  CUMINGS,  3d 

Born  June  20,  1897,  in  Tiona,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  Henry  H.  and  Bertha 
Pierce  Cumings,  Home,  Philadelphia.  Educated  Buffalo  High  School,  New 
York,  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Temple  University.  Joined  Ameri- 
can Field  Service,  May  26,  1917  ;  attached  Transport  Section  526,  to  Sep- 
tember 27,  T917.  Died  at  sea  on  torpedoed  "Antilles,"  October  17,  1917. 
Bodv  ne\-er  recovered. 


HENRY  BREWSTER  PALMER 

Born  December  25,  1887,  in  Rochester,  New  York.  Son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Charles  H.  Palmer.  Home,  New  York  City.  Educated  St.  George's  School, 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  and  Harvard  University,  Class  of  1910.  Bond 
business,  New  York  and  San  Francisco.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
June  24,  1916 ;  attached  Section  Three  in  France  and  the  Balkans  to  May 
II,  1917.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Enlisted  Lafayette  Flying  Corps,  Jftne  7,  1917. 
Trained  and  breveted,  Avord.  Died  of  pneumonia,  November  12,  191 7,  at 
Pau.   Buried  Pau,  Basses  Pyrenees. 


HENRY  BREWSTER  PALMER 

"Henry  was  indeed  a  splendid  type  of  young  Ameri- 
can,—  the  kind  we  are  proud  to  have  French  people 
see,"  wrote  one  of  Henry  Brewster  Palmer's  friends. 
Handsome,  reserved,  sensitive,  he  showed  by  every  word 
and  action  his  character  and  his  breeding,  and  few  who 
knew  him  failed  to  surrender  to  the  charm  of  his  per- 
sonality. His  interests  were  many  and  varied.  He 
loved  music  and  travel  and  books,  and  was  an  ardent 
sportsman.  At  St.  George's  School  and  at  Harvard  he 
played  every  game,  and  after  graduation  he  continued 
his  athletic  career  at  golf,  riding,  and  particularly  at 
mountain  climbing.  From  its  beginning  in  191 4  the 
war  came  closer  to  him  than  to  most  Americans,  through 
his  love  and  admiration  of  the  French  for  whom  he  had  a 
strong  sense  of  kinship,  and  in  191 6  he  welcomed  the 
opportunity  to  enlist  in  the  American  Ambulance  Field 
Service,  aiding  France,  and  at  the  same  time  satisfying 
his  longing  for  adventure.  He  worked  for  several 
months  at  Pont-a-Mousson  with  Section  Three,  and 
when  it  was  selected  to  go  to  Salonica  he  went  joyfully 
along,  glorying  in  the  chance  "to  do  something  of  value 
for  France."  "I  know  you  want  me  to  do  my  share," 
he  wrote  to  his  mother,  "and  you  would  undoubtedly 
be  more  desirous  if  you  could  only  see  the  wonderful 
spirit  and  self-sacrifice  which  every  French  woman  is 
showing  in  these  terrible  times."  His  next  letters  came 
from  "the  wilds  of  Serbia,"  —  charming,  intensely  in- 
teresting letters, —  written  with  much  keenness  of  per- 
ception, and  breadth  of  vision,  and  full  of  fine  bits  of 
description.  He  gave  himself  utterly  to  the  exhausting 
work,  made  doubly  difficult  by  the  rough  hilly  country 
and  the  ever  present  fever,  and  his  devotion  was  recog- 
nized by  the  award  of  the  Croix  de  Guerre,  "for  cour- 
ageous action  in  removing  wounded  in  the  region  of 
Monastir." 

In  May  191 7  he  returned  to  France  in  the  Lafayette 

43 


HENRY  BREWSTER  PALMER 


Flying  Corps.  The  history  of  the  Lafayette  Flying 
Corps  says  of  his  training :  "Palmer  was  considered  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  Bleriot  pilots  among  the  later  group 
at  Avord.  A  flyer  by  instinct,  he  had  a  delicacy  of 
touch  and  precision  of  eye  that  were  wonderful,  and  his 
landings,  light  as  eiderdown,  were  a  delight  to  watch." 
"Henry's  record  in  the  school  was  as  nearly  perfect  as 

one  can  be,"  wrote  a  friend,  " he  never  did  the 

slightest  damage  to  a  machine."  In  the  remarkably 
short  time  of  three  and  one  half  months  he  received  his 
brevet  and  left  Avord  for  Pau  for  final  training.  There 
on  November  12,  191 7  he  died  of  pneumonia  and  was 
buried  with  full  military  honors  in  a  corner  of  the  hillside 
cemetery  overlooking  the  shining  river,  whence,  on  clear 
days,  one  can  see  the  white  and  purple  Pyrenees. 

Cyrus  Chamberlain,  who  was  with  Henry  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  and  who  was  killed  two  months  later, 
wrote,  "He  was  one  of  the  best  and  cleanest  of  us  all," 
and  the  tribute  is  eloquent  of  the  way  in  which  men 
thought  and  spoke  of  him.  Charles  Bernard  Nordhoff 
trained  with  Henry  and  his  appreciation  is  typical  of 
the  countless  friends  who  wrote  to  his  mother  on  learn- 
ing of  his  death:  "Always  unruffled,  cool,  steady,  and 
courageous,  he  would  certainly  have  made  a  name  for 
himself  had  he  lived  to  get  to  the  front,  and  his  loss 
means  not  alone  a  void  in  the  circle  of  friends  who  loved 
and  admired  him,  but  the  loss  of  a  bold  and  skillful  pilot 
to  France." 


44 


ERIC  ANDERSON  FOWLER 

Eric  Fowler  joined  Section  Four  in  the  summer  of  191 6 
and  remained  with  it  until  July,  1917,  during  the  period 
of  the  Section's  greatest  activity  and  achievements. 
His  share  in  its  work  and  the  place  he  made  for  himself 
in  the  hearts  of  many  friends,  as  well  as  in  the  life  of 
the  Section  as  a  whole,  have  been  recorded  in  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  a  diary  kept  by  an  older  man  who 
was  much  thrown  with  him  at  the  front. 

"Eric,"  writes  this  friend,  "furnished  the  bright  colors 
to  our  background.  No  matter  how  dismal  the  outlook 
he  was  always  on  the  crest  of  the  wave.  And  how  often 
did  his  heart-warming,  merry  laugh  do  us  all  a  world  of 
good !  Our  men  have  all  shown  their  courage  at  Marre, 
Cote  2^2,  and  Esnes.  But  Eric  felt  a  contempt  for  the 
dangers  of  the  service  that  was  an  inspiration.  Physi- 
cally he  was  a  little  giant  and  of  extraordinary  endurance. 
I  remember  one  snowy  night,  when  the  road  was  lost  to 
view,  he  dog- trotted  as  a  path-finder  in  front  of  my  car  for 
four  round  trips  between  Montzeville  and  Esnes.  When, 
as  happened  more  than  once,  I  side-slipped  into  a  ditch, 
he  would  feed  the  hlesse  blankets  under  the  spinning 
wheels  and  when  I  regained  the  road  fearing  to  stop, 
he  would  overtake  me,  stow  the  blankets  away  and,  with 
a  boyish  laugh  and  joke,  resume  his  place  in  front  of  the 
car." 

When  Eric  Fowler  left  Section  Four  to  enlist  in  the 
French  aviation,  he  took  with  him  the  admiration  and 
gratitude  of  his  chief  and  the  warm  best  wishes  of  every 
fellow  driver.  He  completed  his  preliminary  training  at 
Avord  with  marked  success  and  went  on  to  Pau  for 
advanced  training  in  "stunt"  flying.  The  sad  circum- 
stances of  his  death,  the  day  of  his  graduation,  when  his 
kit  was  packed  and  on  its  way  to  the  railway  station,  are 
related  in  a  letter  to  his  parents  by  Alan  Winslow,  a 
fellow  student  and  dear  friend. 

"I  looked  up,"  writes  Winslow,  "and  saw  one  of  the 

45 


ERIC  ANDERSON  FOWLER 


thirty  or  forty  planes  in  the  air  diving  out  of  control, 
nose  downward  behind  a  hangar.  Then  I  heard  the  crash. 
Five  mintes  later  I  learned  it  was  Eric  Fowler  and  that 
he  had  been  instantly  killed.  It  was  the  last  flight  neces- 
sary to  make  him  fit  for  the  front,  the  finishing  flight  of 
five  months  training. 

"Poor,  fine  Eric,  what  a  shame  he  could  not  have  died 
in  battle,  if  die  he  must !  But,  as  it  is,  his  death  is  a 
glorious  death,  for  he  died  in  the  pursuit  of  his  work,  his 
ideals,  and  his  patriotism " 

Fowler  was  buried  at  Pau  with  all  military  honors  and 
Captain  Orgeaix,  the  French  Commandant  of  the  school, 
in  a  speech  by  his  grave,  paid  a  glowing  tribute  to  his 
courage  and  devotion.  ''Corporal  Fowler,"  he  said, 
"your  death  has  not  been  in  vain.  You  have  served  to 
bring  your  country  closer  to  the  soul  of  France.  When  we 
think  of  you,  our  eyes  will  always  moisten  and  our  hearts 
grip  our  bosoms " 

Those  who  mourn  Eric  Fowler  find  an  abiding  comfort 
in  the  words  of  his  friend's  letter,  and  in  this  tribute  of  his 
commanding  officer  :  "His  death  was  glorious.  His  death 
was  not  in  vain.  He  died  in  the  selfless  quest  of  a  noble 
end ;  in  the  full  measure  of  his  proud  youth." 

"Yet,  O  stricken  heart,  remember,  O  remember, 
How  of  human  days  he  lived  the  better  part, 
April  came  to  bloom,  and  never  dim  December 
Breathed  its  killing  chills  upon  the  head  or  heart." 


46 


ERIC  ANDERSON  FOWLER 

Born  July  24,  1895,  in  Quogue,  Long  Island,  New  York.  Son  of  Anderson 
and  Emily  Fowler.  Home,  New  York  City.  Educated  St.  Bernard's  School, 
New  York ;  Hill  School,  Pottstown,  Pennsylvania ;  and  Princeton  University, 
Class  of  1919.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  August  6,  1916 ;  attached 
Section  Four  until  July  10,  1917.  Enlisted  French  aviation.  Trained 
Avord  and  Pau.  Promoted  to  Corporal.  Killed  in  aeroplane  accident,  Pau, 
November  26,  191 7.    Buried  Pau,  Basses  Pyrenees. 


ROBERT  DOUGLAS  MEACHAM 

Born  September  15,  1883,  in  Ashland,  Kentucky.  Son  of  Daniel  B.  and 
Lida  Douglas  Meacham.  Home,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Educated  Asheville 
School,  North  Carolina,  Hobart  College  one  year,  and  one  year  Sheffield 
Scientific  School,  Yale,  Class  of  1907.  From  1906  with  Rogers,  Brown 
Company,  Cincinnati.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  March  12,  191 7; 
attached  Section  Sixteen  to  September  13,  191 7.  Died  of  appendicitis, 
December  14,  191 7,  at  Louisville,  Kentucky.  Buried  Spring  Grove  Cem- 
etery, Cincinnati,  Ohio. 


ROBERT  DOUGLAS  MEACHAM 

*'It*s  strange  the  way  things  work  out  in  this  war," 
Robert  Douglas  Meacham  wrote  home,  "one  of  our 
Frenchmen  had  been  in  the  army  since  the  beginning, 
but  being  rather  old  was  taken  out  of  the  trenches  and 
sent  back  here,  a  comparatively  safe  place,  as  a  cook. 
He  had  been  here  only  two  days  before  he  was  killed." 
''Bob''  did  not  guess  that  for  him,  too,  things  were  to 
work  out  thus  strangely  and  with  as  seeming  little  jus- 
tice. He  returned  from  ambulance  work  at  the  front 
to  enter  a  more  hazardous  service,  and,  having  passed 
his  examinations  for  aviation,  was  on  his  way  home 
from  Washington  to  await  his  commission  when  he  fell 
ill  with  appendicitis  and  died  as  a  civilian  —  yet  no  less 
a  warrior.  He  had  been  often  under  fire.  "Believe 
me,*'  he  had  written,  "it  is  some  sensation  to  be  flat  on 
your  stomach  wondering  if  the  next  one  is  going  to  'get' 
you";  but  no  shells  "got"  him.  He  had  served  six 
months  with  Section  Sixteen  suffering  more  than  most 
because  always  in  his  mind  was  a  vision  of  what  a  shell 
might  bring  —  of  being  struck  and  mangled.  Fear 
stood  ever  at  his  side  vainly  trying  to  influence  him.  He 
heard  its  urging  but  unmindful,  went  forward  into  all 
dangers.  Yet  the  trail  of  his  adventurous  life  ended  far 
from  the  cannon  and  drums  and  banners  of  warfare  in  a 
city  hospital  and  the  silence  of  unsung  heroism.  Those 
who  know  fear  are  the  bravest. 

"Bob,"  after  his  schooling  in  the  South,  spent  a  year 
at  Hobart  and  one  at  Yale.  He  was  an  athlete,  for  love 
of  the  sport,  and,  as  a  freshman  at  Hobart,  played  on 

the    varsity    baseball    team.     " As    plucky    a 

fellow  as  ever  played  a  game,  never  losing  his  head," 
they  said  of  him.  "Never  an  exceptional  student," 
wrote  his  brother,  and  perhaps,  in  his  belief  that  in 
friendships  was  one  of  the  biggest  gains  from  college, 
"Bob"  overstressed  that  side  of  undergraduate  life. 
But  he  made  some  very  real  and  lasting  friends.     He  was 

47 


ROBERT  DOUGLAS  MEACHAM 


"one  of  the  most  lovable  fellows  to  be  with  I  ever  knew" 
writes  one,  "liked  by  everybody"  says  another,  and  "I 
know  very  few  who  are  so  much  worth  while."  He  was 
the  object  of  hero-worship,  too,  on  straight  manliness 
as  the  words  of  a  younger  man  show  :  "  I  was  just  a  green 
youngster Bob's  kindly  nature  and  his  clean- 
cut  ways  made  me  secretly  idolize  him."  It  means 
much  to  have  a  mother  write,  as  one  did  who  knew  him 
well,  "I  wish  my  boy  had  known  him." 

"With  sufficient  income  he  would  never  have  entered 
business  but  spent  his  time  with  expeditions  exploring 
buried  cities  of  the  old  world,''  said  his  brother,  and 
before  the  war  "Bob"  had  already  traveled  in  Europe, 
circled  the  globe,  and  made  trips  to  Central  America. 
He  had  gathered  quite  a  library  on  Egypt  and  India, 
and  an  unusual  collection  of  arms  from  various  nations 
and  ages.  Imitations  never  interested  him,  and  also 
in  his  contact  with  men  "he  had  no  respect  for  the  sham, 
admiring  only  the  true  and  genuine."  Yet  he  was 
lenient  to  the  faults  of  others,  though  never  toward  his 
own.  He  not  only  did  his  duty  whenever  called  upon, 
but  did  it  cheerfully,  and  at  all  times  was  to  be  relied 
upon  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  those  about  him.  "Bob" 
had  a  delightful  sense  of  humor,  declaring  the  most  seri- 
ous Poilu  he  knew  was  "going  to  be  married  when  he  goes 
on  permission.  Suppose  that  is  what's  worrying  him." 
And  with  it  he  had  a  rare  delicacy  of  perception  and  sym- 
pathy. "  If  I  can  only  help  save  the  lives  of  some  of  those 

poor  fellows I  shall  feel  that  my  own  life  has 

been  worth  while,"  he  wrote.  He  never  realized  how 
much  worth  while  his  fineness  had  made  that  life  of  his 
for  others. 


48 


ALDEN  DAVISON 

Among  all  those  "immortal  dead  who  live  again  in  minds^ 
made  better  by  their  presence ;  live  in  pulses  stirred  to 
generosity,  in  deeds  of  daring  rectitude,  in  scorn  for 
miserable  aims  that  end  with  self,"  there  is  none  more 
worthy  of  such  place  and  tribute  than  Alden  Davison. 

The  background  for  his  war  experiences  speaks  elo- 
quently of  the  type  of  man  he  was.  In  his  four  years'at 
Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  he  participated  in  all 
phases  of  school  activities,  contributing  to  each  the 
force  of  his  fine  idealism  and  the  power  of  his  person- 
ality. He  was  interested  in  foot-ball,  track  athletics^ 
hockey,  and  soccer ;  he  was  a  member  of  the  Student 
Council,  the  Dramatic  Club,  the  Debating  Union :  he 
was  President  of  Forum  and  of  Inquiry,  and  President 
of  his  class.  As  a  final  acknowledgment  of  his  influence,, 
he  was  given  the  second  largest  number  of  votes  for  the 
man  "who  has  done  the  most  for  the  school." 

The  Phillips  Academy  memorial  volume  does  him  this 
honor :  "Alden  Davison  was  one  of  those  rare  and  mag- 
netic souls  who  secure  without  effort  the  affection  of  all 
who  meet  them.  Few  young  men  of  his  day  were  more 
versatile  and  adaptable.  The  ability  which  won  him 
his  many  distinctions  was,  of  course,  admired ;  but  it 
was  more  especially  his  fine  and  upright  character  that 
made  him  a  leader.  He  could  be  trusted  always  to  cast 
his  influence  where  it  would  count  for  good,  and  there  waa 
no  worthy  cause  which  did  not  have  his  support." 

In  191 6  he  enlisted  in  the  Amercan  Field  Service,  and 
during  his  six  months  service  with  Section  Eight,  in  the 
Verdun  Sector,  he  was  cited  three  times  for  bravery, 
and  once  he  suffered  the  distinction  of  having  his  ambu- 
lance blown  out  from  under  him. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  enlistment  he  was  obliged  to 
return  to  the  United  States,  being  taken  seriously  ill 
with  typhoid  fever.  It  was  a  grievous  disappointment 
to  him,  as  he  was  eager  to  enlist  in  the  Lafayette  Es- 

49 


ALDEN  DAVISON 


quadrille.  In  the  autumn  of  19 17  he  had  recovered 
sufficiently  to  enter  the  aviation  service,  and  was  sent  to 
Camp  Hicks,  Texas,  for  his  training,  in  the  27th  Aero 
Squadron.  There,  on  December  26th,  the  day  before 
he  received  his  commission  as  Lieutenant,  he  was  killed 
in  a  practice  flight. 

The  instructor  of  his  squadron  wrote:'' — I  would 
cheerfully  give  half  of  my  life  if  he  were  here  safely  to- 
night. He  is  the  nearest  to  one  of  God*s  children  I  ever 
knew,  and  is  mourned  most  deeply  here,  for  every  one 
was  so  fond  of  him.  He  was  a  man's  man,  and  nothing 
can  be  said  higher  in  praise  than  that.'* 

"Resolute,  clear-eyed,  high-minded,"  to  quote  the 
Phillips  Academy  volume  further,  "he  made  his  ideals 
the  guiding  principles  of  his  life.  For  him  duty  was 
something  more  than  a  mere  word,  and  loyalty  was 
naught  unless  it  was  revealed  in  sacrifice." 

Upon  his  death,  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Rail 
Joint  Company,  with  which  he  had  been  associated  in 
business,  had  engraved  and  bound  in  morocco,  a  very 
beautiful  memorial  volume  to  him,  whose  preface  was  as 
follows :  "  Resolved,  that  the  Board  of  Directors  desires 
to  express  its  deep  regret  at  the  loss  of  Alden  Davison, 
who,  in  the  service  of  this  Company  showed  the  same 
high  spirit  which  prompted  his  ready  and  unselfish  re- 
sponse to  the  call  of  his  Country." 

In  work  and  play,  war  and  peace,  Alden  Davison  in- 
spired the  love  and  devotion  of  all  with  whom  he  was 
associated.  Brief  though  his  career,  it  represented  years 
crowded  with  high  purpose  and  accomplishment.  Truly 
indeed, 

**He  went  through  life  sowing  love  and  kindness,  and 
what  he  sowed  he  has  abundantly  reaped." 


50 


ALDEN  DAVISON 

Born  July  6,  1895,  in  New  York  City.  Son  of  Henry  J.  and  Maria  Alden 
Davison.  Educated  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  and  Yale  University, 
Class  of  1919.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  February  28,  1916 ;  attached 
Section  Eight  until  September  6,  1916.  Sent  to  America  ill  with  typhoid 
fever.  September  4,  191 7,  entered  U.  S.  Aviation  Service.  Cadet,  27th 
Aero  Squadron,  Camp  Hicks,  Texas.  Killed  December  26,  191 7,  in  aero- 
plane accident.    Buried  Kensico  Cemetery,  New  York. 


GORDON  STEWART 

Born  March  15,  1896,  in  Millis,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Edward  J.  and 
Helena  Felt  Stewart.  Home,  Brookline,  Massachusetts.  Educated  Brook- 
line  High  School,  Chauncy  Hall  School,  Boston,  and  Massachusetts  Insti- 
tute of  Technology,  Class  of  1920.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  April 
14,  1917;  attached  Section  Eighteen  to  October  15,  1917.  Enlisted  U.S. 
Aviation  Service.  Trained,  Tours,  France.  Died  January  9,  1918,  of  spinal 
meningitis.   Buried  Tours,  Indre-et-Loire. 


GORDON  STEWART 

Gordon  Stewart,  during  his  school  days,  was  well 
known  through  his  athletic  ability.  Both  at  Brookline 
High  School  and  Chauncy  Hall  School  he  was  prominent 
in  various  branches  of  sport  and  was  captain  of  the 
Brookline  crew  in  191 5  when  the  crew  won  the  inter- 
scholastic  cup.  He  won  two  medals  from  the  Harvard 
Interscholastic  Gymnasium  Association  and  held  the 
Greater  Boston  diving  championship  for  two  years. 
At  the  time  of  his  enlistment  in  the  Field  Service  he  was  a 
student  at  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology. 

Referring  to  his  well-deserved  prominence  during  his 
school  days,  his  pastor  writes  of  him :  "Gordon  was  one 
of  the  few  young  men  of  my  town  who,  being  popular, 
yet  was  never  conscious  of  his  popularity.  That  humil- 
ity in  conjunction  with  his  courage  and  daring  and  won- 
derful wealth  of  humor  made  him  the  idol  of  all." 

With  his  brother  Theodore  he  sailed  for  France  on  the 
first  boat  to  leave  after  war  was  declared  by  the  United 
States,  and  saw  much  hard  work  during  the  summer 
around  Verdun  with  Section  Eighteen,  which  was 
honored  by  a  citation  for  the  Croix  de  Guerre  from  the 
126th  Division.  He  had  the  misfortune  to  break  his 
arm  shortly  after  joining  the  Section,  and  was  laid  up 
for  over  two  months  in  a  French  hospital  with  a  very  bad 
fracture  necessitating  several  operations  and  much  suf- 
fering, as  the  bone  was  not  set  until  three  days  after  the 
accident,  and  did  not  knit  properly.  Writing  from  the 
hospital  of  an  impending  operation,  he  unconsciously 
gives  us  a  clear  idea  of  his  courage  and  nerve :  "Expect 
it  will  be  a  bit  painful,  but  guess  I  can  keep  up  my  record 
of  not  having  let  out  a  '  peep '  since  it  happened."  What 
seems  to  have  been  harder  to  endure  than  the  pain  was 
his  longing  to  get  into  the  thick  of  things  again.  He 
remarks  a  little  later :  "I  am  trying  to  get  over  my  de- 
sire to  go  back  to  the  front,  or  at  least  I  am  trying  to  be 
contented,  although  the  letters  Theo  writes  me  are  like 

51 


GORDON  STEWART 


a  full  dish  of  cold  water  held  in  front  of  a  man  who  is 
dying  of  thirst.     I  just  itch  to  get  back  and  can*t." 

Afterwards  upon  returning  from  ten  days'  convalescent 
leave  in  September,  he  writes:  "While  in  Paris  I  took 
mental  and  physical  examinations  for  a  commission  in 
the  Army  Flying  Corps.  I  passed  both  with  flying 
colors  so  that  at  the  end  of  my  training  I  will  be  a  first 
lieutenant  in  the  Flying  Corps.  It  has  been  terribly 
hard  to  decide  but  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  serve  my 
country  to  the  last  stitch.'* 

He  was  sent  in  October  to  the  Aviation  Training 
School  at  Tours  where  he  was  taken  sick  Christmas 
night,  and  died  on  January  9,  191 8,  of  spinal  menin- 
gitis. As  to  his  work  as  a  cadet,  one  of  his  friends  at  the 
school  exclaimed:  **The  French  instructors  here  had 
already  told  me,  before  Gordon  was  taken  sick  at  all, 
that  he  was  the  most  promising  pupil  they  had  ever  had. 
His  own  instructor  wept  when  told  of  his  death,  not 
wholly  for  Gordon,  as  he  said,  but  for  the  loss  to  the 
Allies." 

Had  Gordon  Stewart  lived  to  return  to  the  front  as  an 
aviator,  he  would  have  proved  of  inestimable  value  to 
his  country,  as  he  possessed  in  every  respect  the  qual- 
ities necessary  for  the  branch  of  service  which  he  had 
chosen.  Yet  dying  as  he  did,  he  gave  his  life  for  his 
country's  cause  as  truly  and  completely  as  though  he 
had  been  shot  down  in  battle  by  an  enemy  plane. 


52 


ERNEST  HUNNEWELL  LEACH 

Soon  after  the  war  broke  out,  and  while  Ernest  Leach 
was  still  but  a  lad  in  his  teens,  he  faced  for  himself  the 
issues  at  stake  and  decided  that  the  cause  of  France  was 
the  cause  of  right  and  humanity.  His  financial  condition 
was  all  that  prevented  his  leaving  for  France.  Mean- 
while he  did  what  he  could.  He  foresaw  that  America 
must  sooner  or  later  enter  the  struggle,  and  resolved  that 
he  and  his  friends  should  be  ready  when  the  call  came. 
In  his  quiet  way  Ernest  got  together  a  group  of  his 
companions  and  induced  them  to  join  him  in  regular 
cross-country  hikes  after  business  hours  and  on  Sundays 
to  keep  themselves  in  good  physical  condition.  Often 
their  courage  lagged  and  it  was  always  he  who  spurred 
them  on,  and  though  they  thought  him  too  enthusiastic, 
they  followed  him  nevertheless.  To  further  prepare  him- 
self he  took  the  regular  course  in  infantry  training  at 
Plattsburg  in  the  summer  of  191 6. 

The  hard  work  which  Section  Eighteen  was  called 
upon  to  do  during  the  summer  of  191 7  around  Verdun, 
and  for  which  they  received  a  divisional  citation  for  the 
Croix  de  Guerre,  only  served  to  deepen  his  sense  of  duty 
and  responsibility  in  the  cause  which  he  had  always  cher- 
ished, and  for  which  he  had  long  been  preparing.  He 
writes  at  this  time  :  "Any  vain  curiosity  that  I  may  have 
had  regarding  war  is  quite  dispelled ;  war  at  its  best  is 
very  bad.    But  I  am  glad  the  United  States  is  going  to 

do  her  part  to  end  it,  and  in  the  right  way 

Whichever  way  things  turn  out,  I  won't  lose.  There  are 
worse  things  than  losing  your  life  in  the  best  cause  a 
nation  ever  had." 

For  all  his  serious  purpose,  however,  he  had  a  lively 
sense  of  humor  and  a  buoyant  youthfulness  that  kept 
him  cheerful.  Ernest  wrote:  "One  of  the  chief  reasons, 
—  outside  the  joy  of  living, —  for  my  wishing  to  live 
through  this  war  is  to  see  how  it  ends." 

With  the  breaking  up  of  the  old  volunteer  Ambulance 

53 


ERNEST  HUNNEWELL  LEACH 


Service  came  the  heartbreaking  uncertainty  as  to  where 
the  greatest  possibility  for  service  lay.  How  he  decided 
the  issue,  an  extract  from  one  of  his  letters  shows:  "It 
took  all  my  will  power  to  pick  aviation  as  my  service 
branch  after  I  had  seen  a  number  of  planes  brought 
down  in  air  fights  and  seen  the  results  at  close  range. 
But  I  feel  that  if  anything  were  going  to  happen  to  me  it 
would  happen  just  the  same  in  one  service  as  another. 
At  least  you  can  feel  here  as  though  you  were  doing  your 
full  part." 

And  it  was  his  full  part  that  Leach  did.  To  the  long 
task  of  training  he  gave  himself  with  the  same  resolute 
devotion  which  had  already  characterized  his  work  at  the 
front.  The  cablegram  announcing  his  death  in  an  aero- 
plane accident,  January  21,  191 8,  also  stated  that  he  had 
completed  in  two  weeks  a  test  which  usually  required  a 
month,  and  that  he  was  about  to  be  commissioned. 

The  spirit  in  which  he  met  his  death  for  that  cause 
which  had  long  since  become  a  part  of  his  very  soul,  is 
suggested  by  his  own  words  in  a  letter  written  but  a  short 
time  before:  "If  I  don't  come  back,  please  remember 
that  I  do  this  willingly  and  gladly.  I  feel  that  the  cause  is 
worth  all  of  me." 

That  he  was  loved  by  his  comrades  is  shown  clearly  by 
the  cry  of  sorrow  in  a  little  poem  written  by  Lieutenant 
Gilbert  N.  Jerome,  of  the  Air  Service,  who  was  killed  in 
battle  in  July,  191 8.  The  loss  of  a  brother  in  arms  is  felt 
poignantly  in  the  words  : 

"  'T  is  but  a  moment  since  he  stood 

Here  in  our, little  group 
And  smiled  and  spoke, 
A  moment's  flight,  and  then 

He  passes  through  the  gate 
That  bars  our  view. 

Leaving  us  desolate." 


54 


ERNEST  HUNNEWELL  LEACH 

Born  November  4,  1895,  at  Hanson,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Reverend  A. 
Judson  and  Mary  Lewis  Leach.  Educated  Reading,  Massachusetts,  public 
schools.  With  First  National  Bank  of  Reading,  seven  years.  Joined  Ameri- 
can Field  Service,  April  14,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Eighteen  to  September 
23,  19 1 7.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation  Service,  October,  191 7.  Breveted  at 
Tours.  Killed  January  21,  19 18,  at  the  3d  Aero  Instruction  Centre,  Issou- 
dun,  in  an  aeroplane  accident.   Buried  Issoudun,  Indre. 


JACK  MORRIS  WRIGHT 

Born  July  9,  1898,  in  New  York  City.  Son  of  Charles  Lennox  and  Sarah 
Greene  Wright.  Educated  I'Ecole  Alsacienne,  Paris,  and  Phillips  Acad- 
emy, Andover,  Massachusetts,  Class  of  191 7.  Joined  American  Field  Ser- 
vice, April  28,  1917;  attached  Transport  Section  526  to  August  16,  1917., 
Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation  Service.  Trained  at  Issoudun.  Commissioned  First 
Lieutenant.  Killed  January  24,  1918,  in  aeroplane  accident  at  Issoudun. 
Buried  Military  Cemetery,  Issoudun,  Indre. 


JACK  MORRIS  WRIGHT 

"One  glorious  hour  of  crowded  life, 
Is  worth  an  age  without  a  name." 

Jack  Wright,  First  Lieutenant  in  aviation,  was  only 
nineteen  when  killed  in  training.  His  little  hour  was  so 
fleeting,  but  oh,  so  gloriously  full.  Any  tribute  of  words 
to  his  memory  seems  pitifully  inadequate.  His  life,  his 
death,  his  letters,  now  compiled  in  a  volume,  "A  Poet  of 
the  Air,"  and  the  inspiration  of  his  philosophy,  consti- 
tute a  memorial  which  outshines  any  amplification  of  this 
writing. 

For  Jack  Wright  was  not  an  ordinary  individual.  He 
was  an  artist, —  a  genius,  who  lived  above  and  beyond 
the  commonplace.  By  temperament  he  was  well  fitted  for 
service  in  the  air.  His  nature  was  naturally  ecstatic, — 
soaring, —  reaching  out,  and  above.  The  wonder  and 
glory  of  flying  was  always  fresh  to  him.  "It  became  akin 
to  some  divine  privilege." 

This  poet  felt  a  call  and  sacred  duty  to  write  of  flying. 
"So  far  there  has  been  a  soldier  poet,  a  poet  of  the  woods, 
a  poet  of  all,"  he  wrote,  "but  as  yet  there  has  been  no 
poet  of  the  air, —  the  wonderlands  unknown,  unfelt, 
unseen,  but  ever  worshiped  as  God's  own  ground,  or  as 
the  symbols  of  the  highest  soarings  of  men." 

It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  a  genius  and  artistry  such  as 
his  with  war.  Yet  it  was  just  such  exalted  vision  and  liv- 
ing idealism,  contagious  to  a  high  degree,  which  redeemed 
the  war,  with  all  its  cruelty.  With  his  death,  Jack  Wright 
ceases  to  become  an  individual.  He  becomes  a  symbol, — 
a  symbol  of  all  the  youth,  and  hope,  enthusiasm,  and 
idealism,  which  poured  itself  out  in  the  blood  and  deeds 
of  every  man  who  sacrificed  his  all  in  the  past  war.  He 
becomes  man's  ideal  of  his  truest  self,  realized. 

The  following  was  written  in  explanation  to  his  mother, 
while  he  was  still  in  the  Camion  Service,  waiting  to  be 
transferred  to  the  Aviation,  for  which  he  had  just  passed 
his  examinations. 

55 


JACK  MORRIS  WRIGHT 


"There  are  many  reasons  for  my  new  action 

The  choice  between  America  and  Peace,  or  France  and 
War;  the  desire  to  be  *one  of  them'  over  here,  and  to 
feel  worthy  of  France's  beauty  and  her  people's  sym- 
pathy ;  the  desire  to  be  able  to  say  with  pride  that  I  had 
done  something  real  in  the  greatest  of  all  struggles ;  the 
horror  of  shirking  when  boys  like  me  are  dying  ;  the  thou- 
sand and  one  other  minor  reasons,  that  turn  by  turn  as- 
sail me  more  strongly  ever  day." 

In  another  letter  we  sense  that  which  actuated  all  his 
life:  "If  I  could  give  my  life  to  make  a  bit  of  idealism 
perfect  itself,  and  live  immortal  on  a  mortal  world,  it 
would  be  the  highest  hope  I  could  attain  and  the  great- 
est happiness  I  could  enjoy.  If  I  were  to  live  lukewarmly 
and  die  weakly,  it  would  be  the  greatest  tragedy  I  or  any 
human  could  suffer/' 

Jack  Wright  was  an  American  boy  of  nineteen.  He  was 
Iborn  in  New  York  City.  When  a  small  child  he  was  taken 
to  France,  where  he  remained  until  the  outbreak  of  the 
war.  He  was  educated  in  French  schools.  His  playmates 
were  the  children  of  the  artists  and  poets  of  France. 
When  he  left  America  with  the  ambulance  unit  he  had 
spent  three  years  in  Andover,  and  was  about  to  enter 
Harvard. 

He  spent  six  months  at  the  front  as  driver  of  a  camion, 
and  three  months  learning  to  fly  in  the  First  American 
Aviation  School  in  France.  He  had  just  received  his 
commission  as  First  Lieutenant,  and  would  undoubtedly 
have  been  sent  to  the  front  in  a  few  weeks  time, —  the 
goal  of  his  ambition,  when  his  plane  met  with  an  acci- 
dent while  in  the  air,  which  ended  his  short  hour. 


56 


PHILIP  PHILLIPS  BENNEY 

Philip  Phillips  Benney  combined  with  his  enthusiasm 
a  special  aptitude  for  flying  which  led  his  commander  to 
write  that  he  had  "rarely  seen  in  a  pilote  the  qualities  of 
courage,  enterprise,  and  daring  that  he  possessed/' 
But  it  was  his  likable  personality  that  most  impressed 
*' Phil's"  comrades  —  that  and  his  courage.  "A  braver, 
finer,  and  more  lovable  boy  never  lived.  He  seemed  to 
make  friends  no  matter  where  he  was,"  wrote  R.  B. 
Hoeber,  of  Escadrille  103,  and  gives  a  suggestion  of 
** Phil's"  character  and  ability  when  he  says :  "Phil  was 
the  best  friend  I  had  over  here, —  we  had  been  through 
all  the  schools  together,  where  he  was  extremely  popular 
and  did  ripping  good  work.  Then  finally  when  he  got  out 
here  he  was  so  happy,  and,  while  he  had  a  good  deal  of 
hard  luck  with  his  machines,  he  was  flying  beautifully." 
Captain  d'Indy  helps  on  the  description  saying  that 
"Phil"  "from  his  arrival  won  every  heart  by  his  intelli- 
gence and  sincere  good-fellowship,"  and  his  uncle  tells 
how  the  same  French  officer  "spoke  several  times  of 
Philip's  wonderful  courage  and  what  a  great  loss  it  was 

because  of  the  fact  that  he  was  loved  by  them 

all,"  and  himself  adds,  "No  one  could  help  loving  him,  he 
was  so  frank,  charming,  and  brave." 

Having  spent  six  years  at  Shady  Side  Academy,  Philip 
entered  the  automobile  business  as  a  salesman,  gaining 
experience  there  which  led,  when  he  was  recommended 
for  a  reserve  commission,  after  his  summer  of  191 6  on  a 
battleship  with  the  volunteer  civilian  cruise,  to  the  re- 
mark that  he  was  especially  proficient  in  engineering. 
The  spirit  which  later  caused  "Phil"  to  enter  hazardous 
chasse  work  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  sit  at  home 
while  France  battled  for  her  existence  and  in  January, 
191 7,  he  gave  up  his  business  and  sailed  for  France.  He 
went  to  the  front  with  Section  Twelve  of  the  Field  Ser- 
vice, but  despite  his  excellent  record  and  friendships 
made,  he  was  not  satisfied,  and  when  America  entered  the 

57 


PHILIP  PHILLIPS  BENNEY 


war  he  waited  only  until  his  term  of  enlistment  was  ended 
before  joining  the  Foreign  Legion  as  a  private  and  then 
transferring  to  aviation. 

He  entered  into  the  training  for  a  chasse  pilote  eagerly, 
saying  that  his  eleven  days  of  acrobatics  at  Pau  "were 
the  most  wonderful  days  of  my  life,"  and  speaking  of  the 
splendid  flying  days  when  he  "worked  like  a  dog,  flying 
an  average  of  five  hours  a  day."  His  zest  was  unbounded 
and  his  happiness  in  service  shone  from  his  letters,  while 
he  had  also  a  keen  eye  for  the  beautiful  and  was  sensi- 
tive to  the  wonders  of  flying. 

He  joined  Spad  Escadrille  67  where,  his  ofhcer  said, 
"So  ardent  was  he  that  I  had  long  delayed  the  moment 
of  sending  him  against  the  enemy,  fearing  a  little  too 
much  audacity  and  too  little  experience."  On  January 
25,  191.8,  with  four  other  planes,  "Phil"  went  on  his  first 
combat  patrol.  As  they  circled  over  Montfaucon  seven 
Germans  attacked,  centering  their  fire  on  "Phil."  Badly 
wounded  and  rapidly  losing  strength,  he  managed  to  land 
his  machine  within  the  French  lines.  He  was  hurried  to 
the  hospital  at  Glorieux,  where  two  Frenchmen  gave 
some  blood  in  an  effort  to  save  him,  but  he  died  in  the 
early  morning.  "How  could  I  do  less  than  give  him  a 
few  drops  of  my  blood,"  said  one,  "when  he  had  given  all 
of  his  for  France  ?"  No  words  could  more  finely  charac- 
terize Philip  Benney  than  those  of  his  French  chief: 
"The  poor  little  boy  was  worshiped  in  the  squadron  and 
admired  by  all  because  he  was  such  a  splendid  soldier  and 
of  such  a  magnificent  courage.  He  fell  nobly,  beauti- 
fully, facing  the  enemy  in  a  real  fight.  Perhaps  he  envied 
such  a  death  for  a  long  time." 


58 


PHILIP  PHILLIPS  BENNEY 

Born  June  28,  1895,  in  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  George  Andrew 
and  Eugenia  Hill  Benney.  Educated  Shady  Side  Academy,  Pittsburgh. 
Volunteer  civilian  cruise,  U.  S.  Navy,  1916.  Joined  American  Field  Serv- 
ice, January  8,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Twelve  until  July  11,  191 7.  Enlisted 
French  Aviation.  Trained,  Avord,  Pau,  and  le  Plessis-Belleville.  Caporal 
pilote,  Spad  Escadrille  67.  Died  at  hospital  of  Glorieux,  January  26, 
191 8,  of  wounds  received  in  combat  over  Montfaucon  the  previous  day. 
Croix  de  Guerre  with  Palm.  Buried,  Glorieux,  Meuse. 


CHARLES  ALEXANDER  HOPKINS 

Born  October  24,  1895,  in  Newark,  New  Jersey.  Son  of  John  M.  and  Mary- 
Carroll  Hopkins.  Educated  Newark  public  schools,  Barringer  High  School, 
and  Dartmouth  College,  Class  of  1920.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
May  5,  1917 ;  attached  Camion  Sections  526  and  184  until  August  6,  1917. 
Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation.  Killed  in  aeroplane  collision  at  3d  Aviation  In- 
struction Centre,  Issoudun,  January  30,  191 8.  Commission  received  after 
his  death.  Buried  Issoudun,  Indre.  Body  transferred  to  Fairmount  Ceme- 
tery, Newark,  New  Jersey. 


CHARLES  ALEXANDER  HOPKINS 

Upon  reaching  France  and  finding  that  men  were  being 
sought  for  the  aviation  service,  Charles  Alexander  Hop- 
kins at  once  gave  in  his  name  as  an  applicant  for  a  place 
in  the  flying  forces,  writing  that  he  "could  not  resist  when 
he  saw  'Old  Glory'  beckoning.''  While  waiting  to  be 
called,  however,  he  served,  for  three  months,  ably  and 
faithfully  as  a  truck  driver  in  the  Reserve  Mallet.  He 
was  not  going  to  sit  idle,  waiting,  while  there  was  work 
to  do.  Certainly  those  who  knew  him  best  were  proudly 
confident  that,  however  hard  it  promised  to  be,  if  the 
way  seemed  that  of  duty,  "Charley"  would  follow  it. 
And  he  did.  One  of  his  teachers  had  said  :  "He  is  a  type 
France  and  America  and  England  will  be  proud  of,"  and 
his  record  to  the  very  end  strengthens  the  force  of  the 
statement  and  proves  it  true  ! 

Charles  Hopkins  was  a  prominent  school  boy  athlete, 
yet  the  publicity  had  no  effect  on  his  sincere  simplicity, 
and  he  held  high  place  in  the  hearts  of  his  comrades  for 
the  fine  qualities  of  his  nature  rather  than  because  of  his 
prowess  in  sports.  In  the  words  of  his  football  coach, 
"There  was  a  boy  who  could  spread  sunshine  most  any- 
where" ;  and  praise  as  a  man  came  before  praise  of  him 
as  an  athlete.  "Charley"  held  on  to  his  perspective  of 
values  in  life.  With  him  friendship  stood  high  and  he 
made  much  of  it.  "We  sure  do  miss  him,"  says  a  college 
acquaintance,  and  the  pastor  of  his  church  says  :  " '  Char- 
ley'  was  an  ideal  boy."  His  circle  of  friends  was  large,  his 
interests  varied,  and  his  friendship  was  Valued.  In 
Newark  "Hopkins  Place"  is  named  in  memory  of  him, 
and,  quoting  a  friend,  "Everybody  had  a  good  word  for 
*Hoppie,'  and  he  surely  deserved  all  the  praise  that  was 
ever  given  him.  To  put  everything  in  a  nutshell,  his  per- 
sonality was  wonderful." 

At  Dartmouth  "Hoppie's"  reputation  had  preceded 
him,  but  again  he  kept  his  head,  and  although  he  became 
a  track  and  football  "star"  he  never  let  athletics  monop- 

59 


CHARLES  ALEXANDER  HOPKINS 


olize  his  attention.  He  was  not  a  brilliant  scholar  but  his 
instructor  in  English  found  in  his  conscientiousness  and 
diligence  something  more  to  be  valued  than  cleverness : 
"With  considerable  expenditure  of  hard  work  he  has 
maintained  at  least  a  passing  grade.  He  is  not  talented 
in  facile  expression,  but  his  brain  is  alert  and  steady ;  he 
can  give  answers  intelligently  and  render  sound  judg- 
ment in  emergency."  Had  he  remained  at  college  "he 
would  undoubtedly  have  been  one  of  the  best  ends  and 
quarter-milers  that  ever  came  to  Dartmouth,"  wrote  a 
classmate.  A  professor  remarks  that  "he  played  hard 
football  without  malice,  but  rather  in  the  wholesome 
spirit  of  the  game,"  and  Gerald  Stone,  of  his  class,  said  : 
"  He  was  a  true  friend,  a  loyal  brother,  and  had  a  heart  of 
gold,  which  accounts  for  the  fact  that  he  was  one  of  the 
best  liked  men  in  his  class." 

In  the  autumn  of  191 7  Charles  began  training  at 
Issoudun  as  a  cadet  in  avia^tion.  He  proved  an  able  pilot, 
although  he  was  painfully  injured  in  an  accident  in  De- 
cember, which  he  describes  casually  enough:  "I  must 
have  been  making  ninety  miles  an  hour  and  was  thirty 
feet  from  the  ground  when  the  wind  caught  my  tail, 
whipped  it  around,  and  I  dove  straight  for  the  ground 
with  the  speed  of  a  demon.  The  machine  was  out  of 
control  and  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  sit  tight  and 
wait." 

On  January  30,  191 8,  while  flying  at  Issoudun,  Charles 
collided  with  another  plane,  "crashed,"  and  was  killed. 
Lieutenant  Cooper  of  the  Air  Service  wrote  that  he  "was 
always  an  excellent  flyer,  cool  and  courageous ;  he  met 
his  death  like  a  true  American,  and  as  every  aviator 
would  wish  to  meet  it,  in  the  air." 


60 


NEWBERRY  HOLBROOK 

"Of  all  the  adjectives  that  might  be  used  to  describe 
*  Berry'  Holbrook,  the  one  that  most  of  his  intimate 
friends  and  classmates  would  agree  upon,  would  be  'de- 
pendable/ But  he  was  far  more  than  merely  dependable. 
He  was  a  gentleman  in  all  that  the  word  implies,  gentle 
yet  manly,  courtieous  and  conciliatory,  but  firm  in  stand- 
ing up  for  what  he  conceived  to  be  right.  He  was  imbued 
with  a  high  sense  of  duty,  particularly  as  regards  public 
matters  which  maiiy  of  us  so  often  neglect.  He  was  am- 
bitious, but  not  for  himself,  for  no  man  could  have  been 
less  selfish  than  he.  It  was  characteristic  of  him  to  say 
nothing  if  he  could  not  speak  well  of  a  person.'* 

In  the  above  quotation  from  one  of  his  classmates, 
Newberry  Holbrook  stands  out  as  a  man  who  was  eager 
and  willing  to  assume  his  obligations  to  the  world  and  to 
his  fellows  but,  more  important  yet,  who  was  endowed 
with  the  fineness  and  sensitiveness  necessary  to  the  car- 
rying out  of  these  obligations  without  in  any  way  an- 
tagonizing those  whom  he  would  serve.  Not  that  he 
shrank  from  making  enemies  if  it  were  in  a  just  cause  — 
he  was  always  fearless  where  his  principles  were  at  stake 
—  but  his  were  the  qualities  which  of  themselves  inspire 
love  and  respect. 

As  an  undergraduate  at  Columbia  University  and 
later  when  connected  with  the  Phillips  Chemical  Com- 
pany, he  was  known  not  only  for  his  strict  application  to 
whatever  task  he  had  at  hand,  but  also  for  a  breadth  of 
vision  at  once  practical  and  idealistic.  It  was  but  nat- 
ural that,  with  the  organization  in  June,  1917,  of  the 
ambulance  unit  sent  over  by  the  City  Club  of  New  York, 
in  which  he  was  an  active  member,  he  should  have  been 
one  of  the  first  to  volunteer  as  a  driver,  and  should  have 
been  the  man  chosen  to  handle  the  complicated  financial 
relations  between  the  unit  and  the  Club. 

As  a  driver  and  subsequently  as  sergeant  in  Section 
Thirty-two,  later  Six  forty-four,  he  gave  himself  with  an 

61 


NEWBERRY  HOLBROOK 


energy  and  courage  rare  even  in  the  ranks  of  volunteers. 
One  of  his  comrades  writes  :  "He  was  probably  the  most 
popular  and  the  best  liked  man  in  the  entire  section,  and 
by  his  devotion  to  duty,  his  unfailing  patience  and  kind- 
ness had  endeared  himself  to  each  one  of  us." 

For  work  at  Verdun  during  the  latter  days  of  Novem- 
ber, 191 7,  he  was  cited  for  the  Croix  de  Guerre  by  the 
37th  Division  of  Infantry  with  which  the  Section  was 
serving.  Of  the  character  of  the  work  which  he  did  the 
following  exti'act  from  a  letter  written  by  his  lieutenant 
is  sufficient  proof :  "Ever  since  the  section  left  Paris  last 
August,  Newberry,  or  'Berry,'  as  he  was  affectionately 
known  to  all  of  us,  has  been  my  right  hand  man.  He  was 
one  of  the  best  drivers,  brave,  cool,  and  intelligent.  And 
in  our  first  difficult  engagement  he  actually  made  more 
trips,  and  brought  down  more  wounded  than  any  other 
man  in  the  section.  Personally,  I  have  lost  a  very  true 
friend  ;  as  his  commanding  officer,  I  have  lost  one  of  my 
most  valued  assistants." 

He  died  on  February  16,  191 8,  at  Essey-les-Nancy,  of 
typhoid  fever,  having  refused  to  leave  the  section  and  go 
to  a  hospital  until  but  a  few  days  before  his  death.  He 
gave  his  life  as  a  soldier  for  the  cause  of  his  country  and 
his  fellowmen,  nor  was  his  sacrifice  in  vain.  For  as  one  of 
these  fellowmen  who  knew  him  well  has  written  :  "  In  his 
death  he  still  lives  with  us  in  his  quiet,  devoted,  and  un- 
assuming friendship.  His  dignity  and  his  quality  of  ready 
and  faithful  service  to  all  he  held  dear  will  ever  be  an 
inspiration  that  we  may  the  better  'Carry  on.'" 


62 


NEWBERRY  HOLBROOK 

Born  November  4,  1888,  in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  Son  of  Francis  N.  and 
Julia  Macy  Holbrook.  Home,  New  York  City.  Educated  Morris  High 
School,  and  Columbia  University,  Class  of  191 1.  In  business,  Charles  H. 
Phillips  Chemical  Company.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  June  30, 
191 7 ;  attached  Section  Thirty-two.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Army  Ambulance  Ser- 
vice, September  22,  1917.  Promoted  to  Sergeant.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Died, 
February  16,  i9i8,of  typhoid  fever,  Essey-les- Nancy,  Meurthe-et-Moselle. 
Buried  Essey-les-Nancy,  Meurthe-et-Moselle,  Body  to  be  transferred  to 
Woodlawn  Cemetery,  New  York. 


WILLIAM  JEWELL  WHYTE 

Born  October  25,  1897,  in  Danville,  Illinois.  Son  of  George  W.  and  Laura 
Hoar  Whyte.  Educated  Danville  High  School  and  University  of  Chicago, 
Class  of  1919.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  April  14,  191 7;  attached 
Transport  Section  526,  until  August  28,  191 7.  Enlisted  in  French  Aviation. 
Trained  at  Avord  and  Pau.  Killed  in  aeroplane  accident,  March  20,  191 8, 
near  Bordeaux.   Buried  Bordeaux,  Gironde. 


WILLIAM  JEWELL  WHYTE 

On  March  20,  191 8,  the  University  of  Chicago  lowered 
its  flag  sorrowfully  to  half-mast,  honoring  the  death  of 
William  Jewell  Whyte,  her  first  regular  undergraduate  to 
give  his  life  in  France.  Just  as  he  was  completing  his 
training  in  aviation,  Whyte  met  with  an  accident.  His 
machine  fell,  like  a  wounded  bird  with  a  broken  wing, 
from  an  altitude  of  6,000  feet,  William  "fighting  gamely 
all  the  way  down,"  his  instructor  reported.  But  the  odds 
were  too  great,  and  he  now  lies  buried  in  Bordeaux,  among 
as  glorious  an  assemblage  as  the  world  has  ever  known. 

"Personally,"  writes  his  guardian,  "there  never  was  a 
finer  lad.  One  could  say  nothing  but  good  of  him  in  any 
event,  but  it  is  especially  gratifying  to  be  able  to  say  that 
he  was  always  clean,  courageous,  and  manly.  He  was 
large,  physically,  always  interested  in  athletics,  and  was 
always  popular  among  his  associates." 

Young  Whyte  graduated  from  high  school  at  Danville, 
Illinois,  and  in  191 5  entered  the  University  of  Chicago, 
where  he  was  on  the  regular  football  squad.  He  was  in  his 
sophomore  year  when  he  enlisted  in  the  American  Field 
Service.  At  the  end  of  his  six  month's  enlistment,  when 
this  service  was  taken  over  by  the  regular  army  organiza- 
tion, he  transferred  to  aviation,  where  he  was  a  private 
in  the  Lafayette  Escadrille.  He  was  keenly  interested  in 
his  work, and,  shortly  before  his  death,  wrote  to  a  friend 
as  follows  :  "Flying  is  going  as  well  as  ever.  I  am  nearly 
finished  with  my  last  advanced  training  and  am  expect- 
ing orders  now  any  time.  Before  I  can  receive  any  really 
active  orders,  I  shall  have  to  receive  my  commission. 
Through  some  error  I  received  appointment  as  a  second 
lieutenant,  and  didn't  accept  it  as  I  am  entitled  to  a  first. 
This  was  in  January,  and  the  government  has  been  all 
this  time  trying  to  rectify  the  mistake  and  grant  a  new 
commission."  He  goes  on  to  tell  of  having  one  cheek 
frozen  thtx)ugh,  on  a  high  altitude  test,  and  comments 
laconically,  "They  tell  me  I  am  living  on  borrowed  time. 

63 


WILLIAM  JEWELL  WHYTE 


But  I  think,  don't  you,  that  I  have  a  long  time  loan." 

This  same  disregard  of  death,  as  long  as  it  be  so  hon« 
orable  a  death,  is  clearly  reflected  in  a,n  article  on  Whyte, 
written  by  a  classmate  and  fellow  amhulancier, 

"On  the  campus  many  of  you  knew  him  better  than 
I.  From  the  most  fortunate  of  you  —  those  who  knew 
him  as  a  Fraternity  brother  in  Delta  Tau  Delta,  as  a 
member  of  Skull  and  Crescent,  or  on  the  foot-ball  team, 
—  he  won  undying  respect  and  friendship.  Like  you,  I 
too  came  to  count  Jewell  as  one  of  my  dearest  friends* 
Last  April  he  and  I  left  the  University  to  become  am- 
bulance drivers  in  the  French  Army.  For  three  weeks  we 
were  together,  then  bad  luck  separated  us,  sending  him 
to  one  section  of  the  front  and  me  to  another. 

"After  that  we  saw  nothing  of  each  other  until  one 
September  afternoon  during  my  furlough,  when,  out  of 
the  cosmopolitan  crowd  passing  the  Cafe  de  la  Paix  in 

Paris,  I  caught  sight  of  Jewell That  evening  we 

dined  together  in  an  out-of-the-way  cafe.   Next  morning 
he  was  leaving  for  Avord  to  train  for  aviation,  and  I  was 

returning  to  Verdun As  we  parted,  I  said, 'Well, 

Jewell,  bonne  chanccy  and  I'll  see  you  later  at  the  Uni- 
versity or  in  Berlin.' 

"  *  I  hope  so,'  he  answered.  '  But  not  many  of  us  come 
back  from  the  Suicide  Club.  But  why  worry?  There 
never  was  a  time  when  it  was  as  easy  to  die  as  it  is  now.' 

"Those,  I  think,  were  the  last  words  he  ever  spoke  to 
any  one  from  the  University,  And  now,  over  a  green  spot 
in  France,  stands  a  white  cross  with  the  inscription : 

'  Mort  pour  la  France 

William  Whyte, 
Americain,  Aviateur.' " 


64 


PERCY  LEO  AVARD 

With  spring  of  the  first  year  of  the  World  War,  Percy  Lea 
Avard  felt  he  must  share,  however  humbly,  in  that  su- 
preme effort  which  all  France  was  making  and  he  deter-^ 
mined  to  join  the  American  Ambulance  Field  Service. 
To  the  objections  of  his  brother,  Reverend  A.  J.  Avard,, 
he  responded :  "  You  Ve  given  your  life  to  the  service  of 
God,  why  should  n't  I  give  mine  to  help  His  people?'^ 
In  June,  1915,  his  employer  wrote  in  his  excellent  letter 
of  recommendation:  "Mr.  Avard  is  not  an  adventurer 

looking  for  new  thrills I  cannot  understand  his 

attitude  in  that  he  should  give  up  his  work  and  his  fam- 
ily ties  to  spend  an  indefinite  part  of  his  life  in  this  sac- 
rifice." But  those  who  knew  "Pete"  Avard  best  under- 
stood :  his  spirit  was  one  of  service,  his  fine  ideals  were  of 
action  as  well  as  thought. 

To  "Pete"  existence  was  an  amazingly  interesting 
thing,  exhilarating,  zestful.  "We  only  live  once,"  he 
said,  and  in  that  span  he  wished  to  see  as  much  of  the 
world  and  know  as  many  of  its  human  beings  as  he  could. 
He  traveled  far,  eager  to  know  life,  and  always  he  was 
well  liked  and  made  staunch  friends.  "Pete"  was,  as  an- 
other has  described  him,  "the  very  salt  of  the  earth." 

Although  born  in  England,  "Pete"  always  considered 
himself  entirely  American  for  all  his  youth  was  passed  in 
New  York.  Upon  leaving  high  school  he  worked  with 
The  New  York  Central  Railroad  until  1904.  Then,  in- 
terested in  mining,  young  Avard  went  west,  returning  in 
1909  for  his  brother's  ordination. 

He  was  in  the  State  National  Guard,  but  his  real  mili- 
tary career  began  in  September  of  19 10  at  Fort  Slocum,. 
New  York,  when  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  regular 
cavalry.  With  troop  "  I "  of  the  5th  Regiment,  he  went 
to  Honolulu,  returning  for  further  service  on  the  Mexican 
Border.  He  was  an  excellent  soldier  and  a  crack  shot,  and 
in  the  troop  he  had  a  horse  which  he  had  "broken"  him- 
self, and  which  no  one  else  could  ride.   At  the  expiration 

65 


PERCY  LEO  AVARD 


of  his  enlistment  period  in  1913,  at  Fort  Huachuca, 
Arizona,  he  secured  his  honorable  discharge  with  high 
commendation,  although  told  he  would  be  commissioned 
if  he  remained  in  the  army. 

For  nearly  two  years  in  New  York  he  was  in  the  credit 
department  of  the  Grolier  Society,  leaving  it  in  June, 
191 5»  to  join  the  American  Field  Service  in  France. 
After  several  weeks  of  active  work  with  the  Paris  Squad, 
""'Pete"  was  with  Section  One  in  Flanders.  From  Crom- 
beke  to  Beauvais  and  to  the  Somme,  then  in  June,  191 6, 
to  Verdun,  the  Section  labored,  "Pete"  setting  an  ex- 
ample by  his  tender  care  of  his  wounded. 

After  a  year's  service  he  returned  to  the  United  States, 
going  almost  at  once  to  the  Chuquicamata  Copper  Mine 
in  South  America  under  a  three  year  contract  with  the 
Chile  Exploration  Company,  but  within  the  year  Amer- 
ica joined  the  Allies,  and  " Pete"  gave  up  all  his  plans  to 
return  and  enlist  in  naval  aviation.  At  the  training  sta- 
tion because  of  his  experience  he  was  made  a  petty  officer. 
Hardly  a  month  later  he  was  taken  ill  with  pneumonia  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina.  He  knew  he  was  sick  but 
not  how  seriously,  and  to  save  his  mother  from  anxiety 
at  not  hearing  from  him,  "Pete"  had  a  nurse  write  that 
he  had  hurt  his  finger  playing  baseball  and  would  be  un- 
able to  write  home  for  some  time.  That  was  the  day  be- 
fore he  died. 

Sincere,  sympathetic,  and  unassuming,  this  boy  had 
lived  his  life  as  a  fine  adventure  in  idealism.  He  sought 
no  favors  or  advancements,  he  accepted  the  world  as  a 
friend,  and  seeking  to  serve  it  made  his  life  a  record  of 
true  sacrifice  and  faith.  A  gallant  soldier,  who  joined  to 
the  strength  of  a  man  the  gentle  naturalness  and  enthu- 
siasms of  a  child. 


66 


PERCY  LEO  AVARD 

Born  April  12,  1887,  in  London,  England.  Son  of  Alfred  J.  and  Margaret 
O'Brien  Avard.  Home,  New  York  City.  Educated  New  York  public  and 
high  schools.  Clerk,  New  York  Central  Railroad  to  1904.  California  and 
Arizona,  mining.  Came  East,  1909.  New  York  National  Guard.  Enlisted 
United  States  Army,  September  26,  1910,  Fort  Slocum,'  New  York;  at- 
tached 5th  Cavalry,  Troop  I ;  served  Honolulu,  Hawaii,  and  Mexican  Bor- 
der. Promoted  to  corporal  and  sergeant.  Honorably  discharged,  Septem- 
ber 27,  1913,  Fort  Huachuca,  Arizona.  Credit  Department,  Grolier  Society, 
New  York.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  July  31,  1915  ;  attached  Sec- 
tion One,  to  July  15,  1916.  Returned  to  America.  Mining  with  Chile  Ex~ 
ploration  Company,  Chuquicamata  Mine,  nine  months.  Enlisted  Nava! 
Aviation,  New  York  City.  Naval  Training  Station,  Charleston,  South 
Carolina.  Petty  Officer.  Died  of  pneumonia,  March  26,  19 18,  Naval  Hos- 
pital, Charleston.   Buried  in  Calvary  Cemetery,  Long  Island. 


HENRY  H.  HOUSTON  WOODWARD 

Born  February  27,  1896,  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  Dr.  George 
and  Gertrude  H.  Woodward.  Educated  Taft  School,  Connecticut,  and 
Sheffield  Scientific  School,  Yale  University,  Class  of  1920.  Yale  Battery, 
Tobyhanna,  1916.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  February  19,  1917;  at- 
tached Section  Thirteen  until  July  23,  191 7.  Enlisted  French  Aviation, 
July  24th.  Trained  Avord,  Juvisy,  and  Pau.  Breveted  October  i,  191 7. 
Caporal  Pilote,  Spad  Escadrille  94,  December.  Killed  in  action,  April  i, 
1918,  near  Montdidier.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Buried  south  of  Montdidier, 
Somme. 


HENRY  H.  HOUSTON  WOODWARD 

Henry  H.  Houston  Woodward,  Caporal  Pilote,  Es- 
cadrille  Spad  Q4,  of  the  French  Army  was  killed  in  com- 
bat, April  I,  191 8.  Having  been  sent  out  to  patrol  the 
enemy's  lines  on  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  he  was  seen 
several  times  by  other  members  of  the  patrol  during  an 
attack  made  on  some  German  planes,  then  disappeared. 
It  was  almost  a  year  later  that  the  remains  of  his  charred 
Spad  were  located  about  three  kilometers  south  of  Mont- 
didier,  with  a  lone  grave  close  by,  marked  with  broken 
pieces  of  the  plane.  His  brilliant  sacrifice  was  the  climax 
of  a  year's  devotion  to  France  and  to  the  cause  for  which 
she  fought. 

Houston's  military  career  began  in  his  association  with 
the  Yale  Battery  of  which  he  was  an  active  member,  and 
at  Tobyhanna  Camp,  in  191 6.  In  his  sophomore  year  he 
resigned  from  Yale  to  enlist  in  the  American  Field  Ser- 
vice, and  sailed  for  France  on  February  19,  191 7.  He 
was  sent  to  the  front  on  March  31st,  with  Ambulance 
Section  Thirteen,  which  was  immediately  attached  to  a 
French  Division  just  going  into  line  in  the  great  Cham- 
pagne offensive.  Thus  he  served  his  novitiate  in  France  in 
one  of  the  most  terrible  battles  of  the  war. 

Tall,  handsome,  and  of  a  remarkably  winning  person- 
ality, he  made  friends  quickly  in  the  Section.  And  as  one 
of  his  fellow  drivers  writes :  "When  the  section  ran  into 
very  hard  work  during  the  offensive  of  Mont  Cornillet, 
his  friendships  were  cemented  by  a  very  great  admiration 
for  the  tremendous  and  untiring  energy  and  zeal  which 
he  devoted  with  all  his  soul  to  the  performance  of  his 
duty  as  an  ambulance  driver  and  which  enabled  him  to 
accomplish  so  much  more  than  the  rest  of  us.  His  cour- 
age, which  appeared  at  times  to  amount  to  rashness,  was 
in  reality  prompted  by  a  desire  to  throw  everything  he 
had  into  his  work  without  thought  of  reserving  himself." 

It  was  this  same  desire  which  urged  him  as  the  summer 
wore  on  to  turn  his  thoughts  toward  aviation.   Here  he 

67 


HENRY  HOWARD  HOUSTON  WOODWARD 

felt  would  be  an  opportunity  to  give  his  all  unstintingly, 
and  on  July  24,  191 7,  he  enlisted  in  the  Aviation  Service 
of  the  French  Army,  with  which  he  had  thus  far  served. 
He  was  assigned  to  the  French  Training  School  at  Avord, 
Cher,  France,  and  later  to  Juvisy,  made  rapid  progress  as 
a  flyer,  and  was  breveted  on  October  i,  191 7.  Then  fol- 
lowed a  period  of  further  training  at  Avord  and  Pau,  to 
perfect  himself  in  the  art  of  flying,  and  in  December  he 
was  sent  to  the  front  with  Spad  Escadrille  94. 

His  life,  from  then  until  his  death,  was  full  to  the  brim 
of  the  things  which  counted  most  for  him.  Good  com- 
panionship and  friends,  the  joy  of  combat,  and  most  im- 
portant of  all,  a  work  for  which  he  felt  himself  admirably 
suited  in  a  cause  which  he  knew  was  just.  As  to  the  qual- 
ity of  the  work  he  did,  one  of  his  comrades  in  the  Esca- 
drille states  he  was  a  most  daring  aviator,  thoroughly 
skillful  in  the  mastery  of  his  plane  and  courageous  almost 
to  the  point  of  recklessness.  He  was  given  official  recog- 
nition for  the  descent  of  one  German  plane  in  a  posthu- 
mous citation  for  the  Croix  de  Guerre  with  palm. 

One  need  not  touch  here  on  the  heartbreaking  suspense 
which  his  family  and  friends  were  forced  to  undergo  after 
the  news  of  his  disappearance,  and  before  it  could  be  defi- 
nitely established  whether  he  had  been  killed  in  battle  or 
was  perhaps  lying,  badly  wounded,  in  some  German 
prison  camp.  What  we  do  know  is  this, —  Houston 
Woodward  died,  as  he  had  lived  and  fought,  a  gentleman 
in  word  and  deed,  and  a  hero  in  the  annals  of  his  country. 


68 


CARLOS  WILLARD  BAER 

At  Miami  University,  which  he  left  late  in  his  senior  year 
to  join  the  Field  Service,  Carlos  Willard  Baer  was  "one  of 
the  best  known  athletes  and  one  of  the  most  popular  uni- 
versity men  in  the  community."  A  college  professor,  who 
knew  him  well,  spoke  of  him  as  "one  of  the  most  modest 
athletes  that  I  have  ever  known." 

The  fourth  and  youngest  son  of  an  Oxford,  Ohio, 
clergyman,  Baer  was  brought  up  in  the  university  town 
and  was  therefore  a  familiar  figure  and  a  well-liked  one 
before  he  graduated  from  high  school.  In  the  university 
life  he  quickly  earned  a  place  for  himself,  not  merely  be- 
cause of  his  splendid  athletic  abilities,  but  because  of  the 
fine  character  and  personality  which  went  with  them. 
His  father  said,  "We  could  recite  enough  to  fill  a  volume 
in  the  way  of  pleasing  memories  of  his  life  and  then  not 
have  done.  He  was  a  boy  of  exceptionally  clean  life  — 
with  not  one  of  the  bad  habits  so  usual  in  the  lives  of  the 
youths  of  our  day." 

This  clean  living  was  remarked  by  all  who  knew  him, 
yet  he  was  so  natural,  in  his  simplicity  and  lack  of  af- 
fectation, that  Carlos  Baer  secured  their  affection  as  well 
as  their  respect  and  admiration.  He  was  a  member  of  one 
of  the  stronger  college  fraternities,  Ake,  and  elected  in 
his  senior  year  to  the  men*s  honorary  society,  the  Red 
Cowl.  Of  him  the  Dean  of  the  Junior  College  wrote, 
"Mr.  Baer  had  a  remarkable  physical  development  and 
was  without  question  the  most  powerful  man  in  college 
while  he  was  here.  He  never  at  any  time  made  use  of  his 
strength  in  a  way  which  was  a  reflection  upon  him  or  his 
college.  His  conduct  in  every  respect  was  above  reproach. 
His  habits  were  of  the  best  and  when  he  went  from 
Miami,  he  left  behind  him  the  reputation  of  being  one  of 
her  greatest  football  men,  with  the  added  distinction  of 
playing  a  game  which  was  of  a  character  which  met  the 
full  approval  of  those  who  believe  in  the  cleanest  kind  of 
sports." 

69 


CARLOS  WILLARD  BAER 


Soon  after  war  was  declared  Baer,  with  that  eagerness 
to  be  actively  engaged  in  the  actualities  of  it  which  so 
well  suggests  the  college  spirit  in  those  days  of  191 7,  en- 
listed in  the  American  Field  Service,  sailing  for  France 
in  May.  There  he  joined  the  Camion  branch  in  the  field, 
and  went  out  to  Transport  Section  184  of  the  Reserve 
Mallet  near  Soissons.  Through  the  summer  and  fall  he 
worked  with  the  trucks,  his  strength  being  a  great  asset 
in  the  hard  manual  labors  of  carrying  supplies  and  keep- 
ing his  heavy  truck  in  condition.  Not  wishing  to  enlist 
in  this  branch  of  service  for  the  duration  of  the  conflict, 
Baer  did  not  sign  up  in  the  Motor  Transport  Carps  when 
the  Field  Service  was  taken  over  by  the  army,  but  served 
out  his  enlistment  period,  then  returned  to  America.  In 
March  of  191 8  he  enlisted  in  the  Engineers'  Corps  and 
was  temporarily  stationed  in  Columbus.  While  there 
awaiting  orders  for  transfer  to  Fort  Meyer,  Virginia,  he 
suffered  an  acute  attack  of  appendicitis.  The  hurried  op- 
eration was  successful  but  a  few  days  later  Baer  con- 
tracted a  severe  case  of  pneumonia.  And  this  man  of  fine 
physique,  weakened  by  his  operation  and  previous  ill- 
ness, died  in  the  camp  hospital  on  the  sixth  of  April,  just 
one  year  after  our  declaration  of  war. 

The  whole  of  Oxford  mourned  his  death ;  the  funeral 
services  were  held  in  the  Miami  auditorium,  and  the 
University  battalion,  comprising  the  whole  student  body, 
marched  in  procession  to  the  cemetery.  The  number  of 
his  friends,  the  fineness  of  his  life,  the  fidelity  of  his  ser- 
vice, all  identify  the  man.  And  nothing  more  fitting  than 
the  text  which  the  pastor  of  his  church  used  for  his  fu- 
neral discourse  could  be  written  down  after  the  name  of 
Carlos  Willard  Baer :  "  For  he  was  faithful." 


70 


CARLOS  WILLARD  BAER 

Born  February  ii,  1893,  in  Alexis,  Illinois.  Son  of  Reverend  Michael  R. 
and  Henrietta  Parcel  Baer.  Educated  in  Oxford,  Ohio,  schools  and  Miami 
University,  Class  of  1917.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  26,  1917; 
attached  Transport  Section  184,  to  November  20,  191 7.  Returned  to 
United  States,  December,  191 7.  Enlisted  Engineers  Corps  as  private, 
March,  1918.  Died  April  6,  1918,  at  Columbus  Barracks,  of  pneumonia, 
following  an  operation  for  appendicitis.   Buried  Oxford,  Ohio. 


SCHUYLER  LEE 

Born  July  29,  1898,  in  Bloomfield,  New  Jersey.  Son  of  Reverend  J.  Bever- 
idge  and  Mynna  Greenman  Lee.  Home,  New  London,  Connecticut.  Edu- 
cated German-English  Academy,  Milwaukee  (Wisconsin);  Latin  School, 
Chicago ;  Haverford  School,  Pennsylvania,  and  Phillips  Academy,  Andover, 
Class  of  1918.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  April  28,  191 7;  attached 
Transport  Section  526  to  August  6,  191 7.  Enlisted  French  Aviation,  Lafa- 
yette Escadrille.  Breveted  October  22,  1917.  Trained  Avord,  Tours,  Pau, 
and  le  Plessis-Belleville.  Caporal,  Spad  Escadrille  96,  January  10,  19 18. 
Shot  down  and  killed,  April  12,  1918,  east  of  Montdidier,  Somme.  Croix  de 
Guerre  with  palm,  and  two  citations.   His  grave  has  not  been  found. 


SCHUYLER  LEE 

Schuyler  Lee  has  been  described  by  one  of  his  instruc- 
tors'at  Andover  as  "handsome, —  Apollo-like,"  but  he, 
like  Rupert  Brooke,  would  have  abhorred  the  thought  of 
being  remembered  by  such  fame.  Rather  must  we  think 
of  him  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Stearns,  the  Head-Master  of 
Phillips  Academy,  as  "clean,  strong,  and  unsullied." 

Schuyler  was  still  at  the  "school  on  the  hill"  when  the 
call  to  service  came  to  him,  and  there  his  memory  will 
always  be  cherished  as  one  of  its  most  precious  heritages. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  K.  O.  A.  Society,  and  a  deacon 
in  the  Academy  Church,  sincere  and  manly  in  his  be- 
liefs, with  the  courage  to  act  always  in  accordance  with 
them.  When  Dr.  Stearns  considered  the  formation  of  the 
Andover  Unit  for  the  American  Ambulance  Field  Ser- 
vice, Schuyler  was  one  of  the  first  to  whom  he  turned^ 
and  his  trust  was  not  misplaced. 

With  the  majority  of  his  unit  upon  arriving  in  France, 
Schuyler  joined  the  camion  branch  of  the  American 
Field  Service,  with  which  he  remained  until  August, 
when  he  was  accepted  for  the  Lafayette  Flying  Corps, 
and  enlisted  as  a  private  in  French  Aviation.  From  Avord 
and  Tours  and  Pau  he  wrote  enthusiastic,  joyous  letters 
relating  his  progress  in  flying  and  telling  of  the  fascination 
that  his  new  work  held  for  him.  From  Pau  he  went  to* 
Plessis-Belleville,  near  Paris,  where  finished  aviators 
awaited  their  assignment  to  combat  groups,  and  thence 
to  the  front  with  Escadrille  96,  which  was  destined  to  be 
practically  annihilated  in  the  dark  days  that  were  soon 
to  come. 

He  quickly  fell  in  with  the  life  of  the  Escadrille,  of 
whose  record  he  was  very  proud,  chafing  only  at  the  delay 
before  he  was  allowed  to  go  out  seeking  combat,  instead 
of  merely  guarding  other  planes.  On  February  6th,  he 
wrote  in  his  matter-of-fact  way  of  a  fight  for  which  he 
was  later  cited : 

"I  had  my  first  fight  on  the  morning  of  the  3rd  of 

71 


SCHUYLER  LEE 


February.  Five  French  and  eight  Boches  were  in  it. 
Three  of  the  men  with  me  got  one,  while  one  of  our  men 
was  shot  down.  It  is  a  totally  new  and  unpleasant  feel- 
ing to  go  out  with  a  fellow  and  come  back  without  him." 
On  his  return  to  the  field,  he  found  that  his  Spad  had 
been  perforated  in  twenty  places  by  machine  gun  bullets. 

When  the  Germans  drove  toward  Amiens  in  March, 
Escadrille  96  was  summoned  hastily  to  the  northern 
battle  line  and  took  part  in  the  intensive  battles  of  that 
month.  On  April  12,  while  flying  east  of  Montdidier,  on 
patrol,  Lee*s  motor,  which  had  been  giving  him  a  great 
deal  of  trouble,  must  have  failed  him,  for  he  was  last 
seen  slowly  descending  into  the  German  lines.  The  Ger- 
man casualty  lists  reported  him  as  shot  down  in  combat, 
and  since  then  his  wrecked  Spad  has  been  found  and 
identified  half  a  mile  northeast  of  Beuvraignes,  Somme. 

He  died  the  way  he  would  have  liked, —  in  the  per- 
formance of  his  duty.  As  a  friend  of  his  said,  trying  to 
be  reconciled  to  his  loss, —  "Schuyler's  death  was  won- 
derful !  Young,  clean,  ardent  —  suddenly  in  mid-air." 

A  French  officer,  pilot  in  the  same  escadrille,  wrote  of 
Schuyler  to  his  father  —  "A  perfect  gentleman  and  model 
soldier,  your  son  had  won  the  affection  and  the  sympathy 
of  every  one  here.  I  can't  tell  you  enough  how  much  all 
here,  officers  and  men,  feel  the  loss  of  such  a  perfectly 
gallant  comrade." 

As  Major  Fuess,  who  knew  and  loved  Schuyler,  said  in 
his  admirable  book  "  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  in  the 
Great  War,"  "he  lived  true  to  his  favorite  passage  in 
poetry : 

'Live  pure,  speak  true,  right  wrong,  follow  the  King  — 
Else,  wherefore  born?'" 


72 


GRANDVILLE  LeMOYNE  SARGEANT 

"A  MAN  can't  live  in  a  country  of  fighters  and  not  be- 
come a  soldier.  He  feels  down  in  his  heart  he  is  not  doing 
his  part."  This  Grandville  LeMoyne  Sargeant  wrote  in 
April,  191 7,  already  planning  to  enter  aviation  when  his 
six  months'  Field  Service  enlistment  should  end.  He 
went  on :  "The  more  I  see  of  the  French,  the  prouder  I 
am  to  be  descended  from  them."  This  French  ancestry 
explains  the  ease  with  which  he  entered  into  the  life  about 
him  in  France  and  his  eager  desire  to  serve  her.  With  his 
sincere  love  of  the  people  about  him  went  a  clear-sighted 
belief  in  their  cause.  The  two  were  knit  inseparably  to- 
gether into  the  very  fabric  of  his  being  and  gave  strength 
and  endurance  to  his  will.  **Many  have  been  killed  and 
more  will  be.  It  is  up  to  the  cultured  and  civilized  people 
of  the  entire  world  to  get  in  this  and  get  in  it  quick."   It 

was,  he  said,  "One  of  the  best  moments  of  my  life 

when  I  learned  that  the  United  States  had  at  last  seen 
her  duty,  gone  ahead,  and  declared  a  state  of  war.  A  man 
cannot  stay  in  France  a  week  without  realizing  that  our 
place  is  in  this  war  with  the  Allies  and  the  sooner  the 
better." 

LeMoyne's  character,  prophetic  of  his  later  manliness, 
was  apparent  in  his  boyhood.  "He  was,"  wrote  his 
school  principal,  "one  of  the  finest  high  school  boys  I 

have  ever  known Such  a  clean-cut  gentlemanly 

fellow  and  of  such  sterling  worth."  From  high  school  in 
Pittsburgh  LeMoyne  went  to  Mercersburg  Academy  and 
then  to  Washington  and  Jefferson  College.  A  fraternity 
brother  wrote  of  him  :  "To  an  attractive  personality  was 
joined  a  fully  matured  mind  and  a  disposition  that  was 
seldom  ruffled.  At  times  he  was  really  too  easy  going  but 
at  all  times  he  was  the  best  of  fellows."  The  College 
Secretary  spoke  of  LeMoyne's  being  liked  by  his  fellows 
and  of  his  pleasing  personality,  and  "regarded  him  as  a 
young  man  of  high  principles."  "A  type,"  said  a  business 
associateof  his  father's,  "that  is  unfortunately  rather  rare." 

73 


GRAND VILLE  LeMOYNE  SARGEANT 

"A  fine  sturdy  young  fellow,"  an  older  friend  called 
him,  and  a  teacher  mentioned  particularly,  "his  quick 
responsive  mind  and  energy,''  qualities  which  stood  him 
in  good  stead  when  he  left  college  in  his  sophomore  year 
and  went  to  France  in  the  American  Field  Service.  He 
went  to  the  front  with  newly-formed  Section  Sixteen, 
serving  in  the  Argonne.  "When  America  enters  the  war,'* 
he  wrote,  "practically  this  entire  service  will  enlist,  I 
think.  Some  are  signing  up  with  the  Aviation  Corps  and 
others  with  the  French  heavy  artillery.  As  for  me  I  am 
going  to  study  the  question  for  the  six  months  I  am  in  the 
field  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  I  shall  have  made  up  my 
mind  what  course  to  pursue." 

He  decided  for  aviation  and  returned  home,  enlisting 
immediately  after  his  twenty-first  birthday.  He  was  sent 
for  instruction  in  radio  work  to  the  University  of  Pitts- 
burgh. There  he  became  ill  with  scarlet  fever,  pneu- 
monia developed,  and  LeMoyne  died  on  April  i6,  191 8, 
before  he  had  been  given  his  chance  to  fight  for  France. 
But  he  had  served  the  country  he  loved,  he  had  fought 
his  good  fight  bravely,  and  achieved  a  goal  of  duty  well 
performed. 

Telling  of  their  last  meeting  in  Paris  a  friend  gives 
LeMoyne's  words :  "Butch,  I  am  going  to  try  to  get  into 
aviation  and  come  back,  but  if  I  am  out  of  luck  and  don't 
make  the  grade,  you  and  I  know  it's  been  a  grand  old 
scrap,"  and  himself  adds,  "In  that  single  idiomatic  sen- 
tence LeMoyne  Sargeant  gave  me  the  sum  total  of  why 
we  loved  him  and  why  his  memory  is  honored." 


74 


GRANDVILLE  Le  MOYNE  SARGEANT 

Born  January  7,  1897  at  Coraopolis,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  William  A.  and 
Ella  Jolly  Sargeant.  Educated  Pittsburgh  High  School,  Mercersburg 
Academy,  and  Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  Class  of  19 19.  Joined 
American  Field  Service,  March  12,  1917;  attached  Section  Sixteen  until 
September  14,  191 7.  Returned  to  United  States,  Enlisted  United  States 
Aviation  Service,  January  12,  1918;  attached  Radio  School,  University  of 
Pittsburgh.  Died  of  pneumonia,  April  r6,  191 8,  in  Pittsburgh,  Pennsyl- 
vania.   Buried  beside  his  mother  in  Beaver,  Pennsylvania. 


THEODORE  RAYMOND  FRUTIGER 

Born  February  21,  1894,  in  Morris,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  John  and  Linnie 
Leonard  Frutiger.  Educated  Morris  High  School,  Mansfield  State  Normal 
School,  and  Oberlin  College,  Class  of  1919.  Assistant  Secretary,  West  Side 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  New  York,  two  years.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  June 
2,  1917;  attached  Section  Twelve  until  August  20,  1917.  Returned  to 
America,  December,  191 7.  Enlisted  U.S.  Tank  Corps,  Fort  Oglethorpe, 
Georgia.  Transferred  Camp  Colt,  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  302d  Heavy 
Tank  Battalion,  as  Sergeant.  Died  there  of  acute  gastritis,  April  19,  19 18. 
Buried  Mt.  Pleasant  Cemetery,  Morris,  Pennsylvania. 


THEODORE  RAYMOND  FRUTIGER 

"Tioga  County  lost  a  promising  young  man  and  patriot 
in  the  death  of  Theodore  Raymond  Frutiger,  at  an  offi- 
cers' training  camp  at  Gettysburg,"  lamented  the  Phila- 
delphia North  American  in  an  article  of  commemora- 
tion. "His  is  the  story  of  a  young  life  of  great  promise 
which  was  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  freedom."  His  story 
is  also  one  of  persistency  and  determination  to  get  to  the 
front,  despite  defective  eyesight,  and  to  help  the  cause 
which  America  held  so  dear. 

At  the  time  Frutiger  enlisted  he  was  a  student  at  Ober- 
lin  College,  and,  like  so  many  other  college  students,  he 
saw  in  the  Field  Service  an  immediate  means  of  helping 
the  Allies  in  their  great  struggle.  In  June,  19 17,  he  sailed 
for  France  to  drive  an  ambulance.  About  the  first  of 
September  this  service  was  taken  over  by  the  United 
States  Government,  and  those  who  were  in  it  were  given 
the  option  of  leaving  or  signing  up  for  the  duration  of  the 
war.  Young  Frutiger,  desiring  to  get  into  more  active 
service,  left  the  ambulance  work  and  sought  entrance  into 
the  aviation  service,  but  he  was  rejected  because  of  very 
bad  eyesight. 

Owing  to  the  death  of  his  father,  he  returned  to  this 
country  in  December,  and  in  January  he,  with  several 
other  returned  ambulance  drivers,  attempted  to  enter  an 
officers'  training  camp.  He  was  again  rejected  because  of 
poor  eyesight.  He  journeyed  to  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
there  once  more  he  was  told  that  they  could  not  admit 
him.  However  he  was  not  discouraged  and  informed  the 
authorities  that  he  would  keep  coming  until  he  was 
accepted. 

Finally  they  wrote  him,  after  his  return  home,  stating 
that  they  had  waived  his  defects  of  vision  and  that  he 
should  report  at  once  to  Fort  Oglethorpe.  After  remain- 
ing there  for  a  time  a  Tank  Corps  was  organized,  and 
Frutiger  being  anxious  to  get  back  to  France,  enlisted  in 
the  302d  Heavy  Tank  Battalion  and  was  transferred  to 

75 


THEODORE  RAYMOND  FRUTIGER 

Camp  Colt,  Gettysburg.  His  mother  received  a  letter 
from  him  on  April  15th,  saying  that  he  expected  to  sail 
again  for  France  in  a  few  days.  Then  he  was  taken  seri- 
ously ill,  and  a  day  later,  before  his  relatives  could  be 
notified,  he  died  of  acute  gastritis. 

Obviously  it  was  no  mere  adventuring  which  stirred 
private  Frutiger  so  deeply,  and  an  earnestness  such  as  his 
could  not  fail  to  have  left  its  effect  upon  those  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact.  The  strength  of  his  determination  to 
serve  was  an  inspiration  to  others  who  were  privileged  to 
execute  what  he  willed  so  intensely.  He  will  be  remem- 
bered by  those  who  knew  him  as  a  man  of  fine  character, 
who  made  friends  readily  wherever  he  went,  and  whose 
death  was  widely  mourned. 


76 


CHARLES  VIVIAN  DU  BOUCHET 

Charles  Vivian  Du  Bouchet  was  the  youngest  of  those 
American  boys  educated  in  France  who  hastened  to  join 
the  American  Ambulance  during  the  early  months  of  the 
War.  His  enrolment  for  active  duty  in  September,  1914, 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  is  typical  of  the  uncompromis- 
ing devotion  and  quiet  heroism  that  characterized  the 
man  beneath  the  boyish  carefree  exterior. 

Of  his  service  at  the  Front  during  the  epic  days  of  the 
First  Marne,  he  said  little,  though  we  frequently  tried 
to  draw  him  out.  We  envied  him  the  experience  in  the 
War  of  movement  during  the  long  stalemate  at  Pont-a- 
Mousson,  where  the  time,  destination,  and  source  of 
every  shell  was  a  known  quantity  and  every  impercep- 
tible wavering  of  the  front  lines  meant  a  thrilling  victory 
or  a  gloomy  defeat. 

Every  section  had  its  cast  of  typical  characters,  which 
remained  curiously  constant  despite  changes  in  per- 
sonnel. There  always  was  a  man  who  did  most  of  the 
hard,  dirty  work  ;  there  was  the  fellow  who  never  did  any 
work  at  all  except  under  protest;  then  the  chronic 
grumbler,  prophet  of  disaster  and  hopeless  tragedy,  with 
whom  we  expostulated,  and  whom  we  fled  to  find  a  more 
normal  and  cheerful  view  of  life  in  the  agreeable  com- 
pany of  gay  Du  Bouchet  or  Leif  Barclay. 

Both  of  these,  at  different  times,  played  the  role  of 
section  "morale  officer"  in  old  S.  S.  U.  Two.  All  of  us 
received  the  warmest  welcome  from  them.  They  always 
had  time  to  help  a  comrade  change  billets  or  tinker  with 
a  balky  engine.  It  was  not  strange  that  the  French 
should  have  been  quick  to  feel  their  sympathetic  per- 
sonalities and  to  make  them  the  Section  favorites. 
Vivian's  perfect  command  of  French  diction,  not  to  men- 
tion argot,  permitted  him  to  arrive  at  a  degree  of  inti- 
macy with  the  more  intelligent  French  men  and  officers, 
which  was  denied  Barclay  and  the  rest  of  us.  This  inti- 
macy was  soon  reflected  in  an  additional  confidence  in  the 

77 


CHARLES  VIVIAN  Du  BOUCHET 


Section  and  further  privileges  for  all.  As  liaison  workers, 
these  two  members  did  much  to  promote  the  mutual 
liking  which  made  those  days  in  the  Bois-le-Pretre  sector 
the  most  charming  memory  of  the  war  for  those  of  us 
who  have  survived.  Nowhere  was  service  more  appre- 
ciated or  personal  contacts  within  and  without  the  sec- 
tion kindlier.  During  the  fall  of  191 6  and  the  spring  of 
191 7  practically  the  entire  section  enlisted  in  the  Foreign 
Legion  for  aviation  service.  Poor  Du  Bouchet  tried  with 
the  rest  of  us  but  lacked  the  one  absolutely  essential 
faculty  for  aviation,  perfect  eyesight.  This  great  dis- 
appointment did  not  induce  him  to  "quit"  as  did  so 
many  others  who  had  to  be  pilots  or  nothing.  He  was 
peculiarly  fitted  for  liaison  and  interpretation  work  and 
was  drafted  for  that  service. 

No  non-combatant  service,  however,  could  satisfy  him 
for  long.  In  the  winter  of  191 7- 18,  he  succeeded  in 
transferring  to  the  U.  S.  Infantry.  Let  it  be  said  that  no 
one  had  a  clearer  idea  of  the  hardships  of  that  service 
than  a  former  ambulance  driver  at  the  Front. 

He  was  severely  wounded  the  fourth  of  May,  191 8,  at 
Crevecoeur  and  was  taken  to  the  American  Ambulance 
in  Paris,  where  he  died  May  i6th.  He  was  awarded  the 
D.  S.  M.  and  the  D.  S.  C.  Those  of  Section  Two,  who 
gave  their  lives  in  the  air,  would  be  first  to  accord  the 
palm  of  most  supreme  heroism  to  Vivian,  who  quietly 
refusing  to  take  shelter  from  his  conscience  behind  youth 
and  bad  eyesight  sought  a  certain  and  unspectacular 
death. 


78 


CHARLES  VIVIAN  Du  BOUCHET 

Born  abroad  in  1899.  Son  of  Dr.  Charles  Du  Bouchet.  Home,  Paris. 
Educated  Paris  schools.  Joined  American  Ambulance,  Neuilly,  September 
3,  1914,  as  driver ;  attached  Paris  Squad  and  served  at  front  in  First  Battle 
of  the  Marne.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  September  16,  1915  ;  at- 
tached Section  Two  until  February  10,  19 16.  Rejoined  Field  Service, 
December  13,  1916  ;  attached  Vosges  Detachment  to  June  5,  191 7.  Enlisted, 
U.  S.  Aviation  as  interpreter.  Transferred  to  U.  S.  Infantry,  i6th  Regiment, 
winter  of  1917-1918.  Died  May  16,  1918,  in  Paris  of  wounds  received  in 
action  near  Crevecoeur,  Oise.  Buried  Paris,  France.  Awarded  D.  S.  C.  and 
D.  S.  M. 


ROGER  SHERMAN  DIX,  Junior 

Born  December  9,  1896,  in  Boston,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Roger  Sherman 
and  Louise  Parrish  Dix.  Educated  Country  Day  School  and  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, Class  of  19 1 8.  Attended  two  Plattsburgh  Camps.  Harvard  Regi- 
ment. Joined  American  Field  Service,  July  23,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  One 
until  October  21,  191 7.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation,  November,  1917.  Trained 
as  bombing-observer  at  le  Crotoy,  Somme.  Commissioned  Second  Lieuten- 
ant, May  12,  1918.  Killed  in  aeroplane  accident,  le  Crotoy,  May  15,  1918. 
Buried  le  Crotoy,  Somme. 


ROGER  SHERMAN  DIX,  Junior 

In  the  spring  of  191 8,  upon  his  last  training  flight  at  the 
French  school,  Roger  Sherman  Dix,  Jr.,  met  his  death. 
The  plane  in  which  he  was  acting  as  observer  "col- 
lapsed at  a  height  of  about  six-hundred  feet"  and  Roger 
and  his  French  pilot  were  killed.  A  French  flyer  at  the 
Ecole  wrote :  "  Comme  les  autres  fois,  il  etait  parti  con- 
fiant,  joyeux,  et  plein  d' entrain.  Helas,  le  mort  stupide 
s'est  trouve  sur  son  chemin.'' 

Roger  Dix  left  Harvard  at  the  end  of  his  junior  year 
to  join  the  American  Field  Service,  and  in  July,  191 7, 
joined  Section  One  near  Verdun.  With  the  veteran  group 
he  served  through  the  very  active  summer  of  almost  con- 
stant fighting.  Section  One  receiving  a  citation  for  its 
work  at  this  time.  He  added  many  friendships  here,  to 
those  he  had  won  in  school  and  college,  and  earned  the 
commendation  of  his  Chef  for  his  unflagging  zeal  and  fi- 
delity to  duty.  In  October  he  left  the  Service,  enlisted  in 
the  U.  S.  Air  Force,  and  later  went,  as  a  cadet  in  Ameri- 
can Aviation,  to  a  French  school  at  le  Crotoy,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Somme.  "He  wishfed  to  be  trained  as  a 
pilot,  but  this  would  have  meant  a  long  delay.  He  was 
promised  that  he  would  be  sent  at  once  to  the  front  if  he 
took  the  training  as  observer,"  and  so  Roger  was  one  of 
twenty-five  who  volunteered  as  bombing-observers. 

Having  made  his  first  flight  in  March,  he  completed 
his  work  with  the  best  marks  of  any  in  his  class,  "was  to 
have  received  the  highest  honors  of  any  of  my  command," 
said  his  chief ;  and  he  was  to  leave  for  the  front  in  a  few 
days,  when  the  accident  happened.  Subsequently  his 
commission  as  Second  Lieutenant  arrived,  dated  May 
12,  191 8,  two  days  before  his  death.  Lieutenant  Glover 
wrote,  "He  died  while  doing  work  in  the  air,  and  while 
holding  the  position  of  first  in  his  class.  More  glory  than 
this  no  man  can  claim  for  his  son."  He  told,  also,  that  in 
six  weeks  he  came  to  know  Roger  as  "a  most  excellent 
soldier  both  on  the  ground  and  in  the  air." 

79 


ROGER  SHERMAN  DIX,  Junior 


Nothing  can  better  show  Roger  Dix  as  a  man  and  a 
friend  than  does  a  memorial  letter,  sent  to  his  father, 
signed  by  each  of  his  cadet  comrades:  "None  of  the 
twenty-four  flying  cadets  of  his  detachment  has  words  to 
express  to  you  how  deeply  we  feel  his  loss  —  to  you,  to 
us,  and  to  the  A.  E.  F.  Easily  the  most  popular  member 
of  this  detachment,  Cadet  Dix  was  a  loyal,  gallant  sol- 
dier, an  assiduous  student,  an  excellent  airman,  and  a 
splendid  companion.  Every  man  counted  him  his  friend, 
and  he  had  never  failed  us.  His  fearlessness,  his  coolness, 
and  his  intrepidity  had  made  it  a  foregone  conclusion 
that  his  career  in  his  chosen  service  would  have  been 
brilliantly  distinguished  and  his  tragic  death  is  a  double 
loss,  to  us  and  to  the  army,  because  he  was  the  possessor 
of  such  splendid  qualities." 

Corporal  Robert  Philip,  his  French  instructor,  voiced 
the  sympathy  and  understanding  which  marked  Roger's 
friendship  with  those  about  him  in  a  letter  to  his  father : 
"Ce  hon  camarade  —  il  est  mort  en  faisant  son  devoir  de 
soldat  americain,  il  est  mort  en  brave  I  J*ai,  moi-meme  en 
aeroplane  suivi  le  cortege  et  lance  des  drapeaux  sur  le  cor- 
billard,  supreme  homage  a  notre  cher  disparu,  Roger  Sher- 
man Dix  repose  maintenant  en  paix  en  terre  frangaise  pour 
laquelle  il  est  venu  courageusement  combattre  a  V ombre  des 
drapeaux  americains  et  frangais.  Nous  avions  tous  pu 
apprecier  ses  qualites  nombreuses  —  excellent  camarade,  un 
coeur  toujours  compatissant,  devoue  travailleur  et  modeste.'* 

In  the  words  of  his  fellows,  written  to  Roger's  father, 
"We  have  lost  a  splendid  comrade,  the  Expeditionary 
Force  a  fine  soldier,  and  yourself  a  noble  son." 


80 


WILLIAM  BECKER  HAGAN 

At  Arthur's  Court,  Sir  Percival  was  styled  the  Gentle 
Knight.  If  ever  modern  knight  deserved  the  name  it  was 
William  Becker  Hagan.  His  life,  crowded  as  it  was  with 
interests  and  with  deeds,  is  an  unsullied  record  of  up- 
rightness and  chivalry,  the  pages  of  which  one  turns  with 
reverence. 

At  Huntington  School,  though  slender,  "Bill"  was 
prominent  in  athletics  as  a  member  of  the  baseball,  foot- 
ball, and  hockey  teams,  and  in  his  senior  year  as  captain 
of  the  latter  two,  in  addition  to  which  remarkable  record, 
he  stood  high  in  scholarship,  winning  final  honors  in 
three  subjects.  At  Stone  School  where  he  spent  a  year, 
he  captained  the  baseball  team,  and  at  Andover  in  191 7 > 
he  was  a  member  of  the  hockey  team.  During  this  period 
he  also  played  on  the  Boston  Hockey  Club  team  which 
was  rated  among  the  best  in  the  country.  His  successful 
athletic  career  which  might  have  spoiled  a  lesser  man, 
only  resulted  in  bringing  into  bolder  relief  his  modesty, 
his  thoughtfulness,  and  his  good  sportsmanship.  He  was 
a  good  loser  and  a  better  winner.  His  first  thought  after 
a  game  was  to  give  a  cheerful  word  to  the  losers,  whether 
they  were  his  own  team-mates  or  his  opponents.  He  was 
a  gentleman  always,  and  a  clean  hard  fighter. 

He  left  Andover  to  enter  the  American  Field  Service 
on  May  26,  191 7,  and  was  sent  out  to  Section  Twelve, 
which  was  working  in  Champagne.  He  wrote  often  to  his 
father,  toward  whom  he  felt  a  tenderness  and  devotion 
that  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  things  in  his  character, 
displaying  rather  unusual  powers  of  description.  He  saw 
the  strife  about  him  clearly  and  was  keenly  alive  to  its 
meaning,  but  he  did  not  lose  his  healthy,  boyish  point  of 
view.  He  had  a  horror  of  exaggeration,  and  his  letters 
are  free  from  the  slightest  taint  of  heroics. 

On  August  13th,  just  before  the  Section  moved  up  to 
a  particularly  active  and  dangerous  sector,  he  wrote  a 
letter  which  was  to  be  sent  to  his  "Dad"  in  the  event  of 

81 


WILLIAM  BECKER  HAGAN 


his  death.  It  is  too  personal  and  sacred  to  quote,  save  one 
small  passage  that  tells  us  a  little  of  the  quality  of  the 
thoughts  that  came  so  naturally  to  him. 

''If  my  time  comes  before  yours,  don't  worry,  Dad, 
just  feel  proud  that  you  are  the  father  of  a  son  who  gave 
liis  life  willingly  for  this  great  country,  France.'* 

"Bill"  returned  to  the  United  States  at  the  conclusion 
oi  his  six  months'  service  and  after  vainly  trying  to  enlist 
in  American  Aviation,  he  entered  the  Royal  Air  Force  in 
Canada.  Before  his  training  was  completed,  he  fell  ill 
with  influenza  closely  followed  by  pneumonia,  and  on 
May  II,  1918,  he  died  with  a  smile  on  his  lips  and  the 
peace  of  God  in  his  heart. 

He  used  to  ask  his  nurse  to  read  the  Lord's  prayer  with 
him  every  night.  She  wrote  that  ''he  knew  he  was  dying 
and  almost  to  the  end  he  was  conscious ;  but  he  had  no 

fear the  only  thing  was,  he  was  sorry  to  leave 

now  when  there  was  so  much  to  be  done." 

"The  afternoon  before  he  passed  away,"  wrote  his 
chaplain.  Captain  W.  G.  White,  "he  so  cheerfully  looked 
up  to  me  and  said,  'Apart  from  the  separation  of  friends 
for  a  season,  what  difference  does  it  make  ? ' "  Later,  with 
utter  forgetfulness  of  self,  when  he  saw  that  his  nurse  was 
crying  he  said  gently,  "Sister,  don't  worry  about  me. 
I  'm  all  right  and  everyone  is  so  good."  Earlier  that  day 
she  had  given  him  some  flowers  to  which  was  attached 
this  verse,  "He  will  keep  thee  in  the  Shadow  of  His 
Wings."  He  read  it  and  whispered,  looking  into  the 
mysterious  future  with  calm  eyes  and  with  the  faith  born 
of  his  manner  of  life  of  purity, —  a  faith  that  we  know 
was  so  well  founded — ,  "That's  great.  Sister,  He  shall 
take  care  of  me!" 


82 


WILLIAM  BECKER  HAGAN 

Born  February  12,  1898,  in  Dorchester,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Oliver  and 
Josephine  Fitch  Hagan.  Home,  Brookline,  Massachusetts.  Educated  Hun- 
tington and  Stone  Schools,  Brookline,  and  Phillips  Academy,  Andover, 
Class  of  1917.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  26,  1917;  attached 
Section  Twelve  until  October  31,  191 7.  Returned  to  America.  Enlisted 
Royal  Air  Force,  Canada.  Died  May  11,  1918,  as  Cadet,  of  pneumonia,  at 
Toronto,  Canada.    Buried  Brookline,  Massachusetts. 


WILLIAM  KEY  BOND  EMERSON,  Junior 

Born  April  9,  1894,  in  New  York  City.  Son  of  W.  K.  B.  and  Maria  Furman 
Emerson.  Educated  Middlesex  School,  Concord,  Massachusetts,  and  Har- 
vard University,  Class  of  1916.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  July  16, 
1915  ;  attached  Section  Three  to  November  25,  1915.  Returned  to  college. 
Studied  aeronautical  engineering,  Columbia  and  Massachusetts  Institute 
of  Technology.  Rejoined  Field  Service,  January  28,  1917;  attached  Sec- 
tion Thirteen  in  France,  then  Section  Three  in  Balkans  to  September  20, 
191 7.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Enlisted  American  Aviation  Service.  Trained  as 
observer,  French  artillery  school,  Valdahon.  Trained  with  15th  U.  S.  Field 
Artillery  and  228th  French  Escadrille.  Second  Lieutenant,  U.  S,  Field 
Artillery.  Attached  12th  Aero  Squadron,  May,  1918.  Shot  down  and 
killed,  May  14,  1918,  near  Toul.  Buried  in  American  Cemetery,  Vignot, 
Meuse,  north  of  Commercy. 


WILLIAM  KEY  BOND  EMERSON,  Junior 

There  are  few  men,  dying  at  twenty-four,  who  leave  be- 
hind them  such  a  clear-cut  record  for  service  and  char- 
acter as  did  Lieutenant  William  Key  Bond  Emerson.  Of 
what  he  stood  for  even  as  a  lad,  one  of  his  masters  at 
Middlesex  has  written  :'"  Bill '  Emerson  was  one  of  those 
delightful,  big-hearted,  child-like  fellows  who  made 
friends  with  everyone  he  met.  At  school  he  stood  for  the 
best  in  both  sport  and  work.  He  was  a  keen  competitor, 
but  too  high  strung  to  make  the  ideal  athlete,  though  he 
rowed  on  the  school  crew.  At  his  books  he  showed  marked 
application  rather  than  brilliancy,  but  was  of  the  intel- 
lectual type  whose  tastes  were  always  refined  and  high." 
And  another  says  :  '*To  have  known  *Biir  is  a  privilege  I 
shall  never  lose.  I  recall  how  he  looked  when  laughing, 
when  serious,  or  when  puzzled,  but  I  cannot  recall  ever 
having  seen  him  angry  or  vexed.  I  feel  this  is  quite  re- 
markable in  a  boy  and  I  think  it  sums  up  'Bill's'  char- 
acter pretty  well." 

His  association  with  the  American  Field  Service  began 
in  the  summer  of  191 5.  Long  interested  in  France  and  the 
struggle  she  was  making  against  the  invader,  he  left  col- 
lege at  the  end  of  his  junior  year  to  serve  for  six  months 
in  the  Vosges  with  Section  Three.  In  January,  191 6,  he 
returned  to  Harvard  and  received  his  degree  with  his 
class  in  June.  But  twenty-one  years  old  at  the  time  of  his 
first  enlistment,  it  is  interesting  to  note  from  a  letter  of 
the  Section's  leader  the  impression  he  made  on  the  men 
with  whom  he  worked :  "He  was  so  straightforward  and 
so  true,  and  such  a  gentleman  through  and  through.  He 
had  a  great  sense  of  duty  and  loyalty  and  was  morally  as 
well  as  physically  courageous.  He  was  always  so  eager 
to  do  more  than  his  share  that  he  was  an  inspiration  to 
those  about  him ;  and  ever  cheerful,  kind,  and  thoughtful, 
he  won  the  very  deep  affection  and  respect  of  everyone." 

After  a  summer  and  fall  spent  at  Columbia  and  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology  in  the  study  of  Aero- 

83 


WILLIAM  KEY  BOND  EMERSON,  Junior 

nautical  engineering,  "Bill"  began  to  chafe  at  the  hesita- 
tion of  his  country  in  joining  the  allies  and  in  January, 
1 91 7,  he  decided  to  re-enlist  in  the  Ambulance  Service. 
He  was  this  time  sent  out  with  Section  Thirteen,  at- 
tached to  a  French  division  engaged  in  the  Champagne 
offensive,  but  was  soon  afterward  transferred  to  his  old 
section  then  serving  in  the  Balkans.  Here  he  spent  sev- 
eral months  with  the  Army  of  the  Orient  in  the  Albanian 
mountains  and  won  for  himsdf  a  citation  for  the  Croix 
de  Guerre.  By  this  time  America  had  at  last  entered  the 
war  and  "Bill"  went  back  to  France,  received  a  com- 
mission in  the  American  Army,  and  was  sent  to  the 
French  Officers'  Training  School  at  Valdahon,  where  he 
trained  as  an  observer  and  graduated  at  the  head  of  his 
class.  Then  followed  a  winter  of  further  training  and  ex- 
perience with  the  15th  Field  Artillery  and  the  228th 
French  Escadrille,  and  early  in  May,  191 8,  he  joined  the 
1 2  th  Aero  Squadron  of  the  American  Army  in  the  Toul 
sector. 

It  was  on  one  of  his  first  trips  over  the  lines,  on  May 
14,  191 8,  that  he  and  his  pilot  were  shot  down.  One  of 
his  comrades.  Lieutenant  K.  P.  Culbert,  wrote  on  May 
2 1st,  the  day  before  he  himself  met  death :  "We  do  not 
know  whether  the  'antis*  got  him  or  whether  it  was  a 
Boche  plane.  He  went  out  on  a  reglage  and  was  shot 
down  in  our  lines.  He  was  an  honor  to  Harvard,  a  gentle- 
man and  a  soldier,  and  the  first  of  our  little  group  to  gain 
the  one  glorious  epitaph." 


84 


RICHARD  ASHLEY  BLODGETT  . 

When  Richard  Ashley  Blodgett*s  friends  went  over  his 
belongings,  the  day  after  he  fell  into  a  slideslip  and 
crashed  returning  from  an  air-fight,  they  found  the  fol- 
lowing message  :  —  "Good  luck  to  you  all.  1*11  see  you 
later  on.  Show  them  we  can  fight  like  hell  —  a  hard, 
clean  fight.  Give  'em  hell !  So  long."  As  his  colonel  re- 
marked in  a  letter  to  the  commanding  general,  "there  is 
some  *pep'  to  this  !" 

As  a  child  "Dick"  had  a  very  definite  idea  of  manli- 
ness —  that  nerve  and  fortitude  which  made  such  a  devil- 
may-care  message  both  understandable  and  natural.  He 
was  genuinely  interested  in  other  people,  and  he  saw  al- 
ways the  best  in  them.  To  quote  his  mother,  "Dick's 
world  was  made  up  of  men  and  women,  boys  and  girls, 
who  in  his  own  words  were  *  corkers.' " 

At  Williams,  "Dick"  played  on  his  freshman  football 
team,  captained  the  freshman  hockey  team,  joined  Sigma 
Phi  Society,  and  on  May  5,  19 17,  in  his  sophomore  year, 
sailed  for  France  in  the  American  Field  Service,  where  he 
was  assigned  to  T.  M.  526  B,  of  the  camion  branch. 
From  the  very  start,  however,  he  was  anxious  to  get  into 
aviation  because  he  felt  that  he  had  peculiar  qualifica- 
tions for  that  work.  On  July  30,  191 7,  he  wrote,  "  I  can  be 
of  service  and  real  service,  I  hope.  That's  all  that  mat- 
ters now."  His  ambition  was  realized  towards  the  early 
part  of  September  and  he  rushed  off  joyously  to  Tours  — 
and  flying.  He  loved  it  all, —  the  game  itself,  the  men  in 
it,  the  luxuries,  and  the  hardships.  On  his  first  plane  he 
painted  the  inscription  he  had  earlier  chalked  on  his 
truck,  "I  should  worry!" 

His  letters  to  his  family  are  all  unwaveringly  cheerful 
and  amusing,  with  a  charmingly  light  touch,  particu- 
larly in  those  to  his  sisters ;  but  we  know  from  other 
sources  that  often  at  the  very  time  they  were  written  his 
heart  was  in  the  black  depths  that  were  known  even  to 
the  most  light-hearted  of  soldiers  !   His  mother  truly  says 

85 


RICHARD  ASHLEY  BLODGETT 


of  him  that  "his  was  the  enviable  gift  of  bringing  sun- 
shine wherever  he  went."  He  thought  often  and  well  on 
serious  matters.  He  wrote,  "Somehow,  I  can't  seem  to 
worry,  I  'm  too  small  a  spot  on  the  map"  ;  and  later,  car- 
rying on  this  idea,  "  I  am  much  nearer  heaven  in  the  air." 
In  a  letter  received  after  his  death  he  said,  "For  all  its 
drawbacks  I  would  n't  be  out  of  this  little  job  for  any- 
thing on  earth !" 

In  January,  191 8,  writing  to  a  friend  in  whom  he  had 
confided  his  firm  belief  that  he  was  not  destined  to  out- 
live the  war,  he  said,  "  I  sure  hope  I  get  at  least  one  Ger- 
man before  I  get  killed  !"  His  wish  was  fulfilled,  for  on 
May  2,  as  a  member  of  the  famous  95th  Squadron,  he 
shot  down  a  German  observation  machine  in  a  thrilling 
fight  that  took  him  well  into  the  German  lines.  Two 
weeks  later,  returning  from  patrol  over  the  lines,  he  fell 
suddenly,  and  it  was  believed,  from  the  fact  that  there 
were  two  fresh  bullet  holes  in  the  bottom  of  the  machine, 
that  he  had  been  wounded  and  had  lost  consciousness. 
He  is  classified  as  killed  in  action. 

A  friend  in  the  squadron  who  had  known  him  in  the 
camion  service  as  well,  Lieutenant  Alden  Bradford 
Sherry,  wrote,  "Out  here  on  the  front  it  was  his  ability 
as  a  flyer,  his  quick  perception  of  his  duty,  and  his  zeal 
in  carrying  out  his  work  without  any  thought  of  the  risk 
involved,  which  made  our  admiration  for  him  ais  great  as 
our  affection."  Another  of  those  who  loved  him  expressed 
the  feeling  of  them  all,  "I  am  sure  that  the  glory  of 
Dick's  passing  must  be  to  us  all  who  knew  him  as  the 
setting  of  a  bright  sun,  which  brightens  the  lonely  places 
and  touches  the  hills  with  flame." 


86 


RICHARD  ASHLEY  BLODGEJT 

Born  June  27,  1897,  in  Brookline,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Edward  E.  and 
Mable  Fuller  Blodgett.  Home,  West  Newton,  Massachusetts.  Educated 
Runkle,  Volkmanns,  and  Newton  High  Schools ;  Lawrenceville  School,  New 
Jersey;  and  Williams  College,  Class  of  1919.  Plattsburg  Camp.  Joined 
American  Field  Service,  May  5,  191 7;  attached  Transport  Section  526  to 
September  5,  191 7.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation.  Trained  in  France.  Commis- 
sioned First  Lieutenant,  December.  Attached  95th  Aero  Squadron.  Killed 
in  action.  May  17,  1918,  near  Toul.  Buried  American  Cemetery,  Thiau- 
court,  Meurthe-et-Moselle. 


ERNEST  ARMOND  GIROUX 

Born  December  4,  1895,  in  Roxbury,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Ernest  and 
Jessie  Stuart  Giroux  (Mrs.  Arthur  E.  Haley).  Educated  Somerville  High 
School  and  Dartmouth  College,  Class  of  1919.  Joined  American  Field  Ser- 
vice, April  21,  1917;  attached  Transport  Section  526  to  August  6,  1917. 
Entered  American  Aviation,  August,  191 7.  Trained  Avord,  Tours,  Issou- 
dun,  and  Cazeaux.  Commissioned  First  Lieutenant  November  20,  1917. 
Attached  103d  Aero  Squadron  (Lafayette  Escadrille).  Croix  de  Guerre  and 
D.  S.  C.  Killed  in  action.  May  22,  1918,  near  Laventie.  Buried  at  Estaires^ 
north-east  of  Bethune,  Nord.  Grave  not  located. 


ERNEST  ARMAND  GIROUX 

"If  I  should  not  come  back  you  must  be  proud,  .  .  .  . 
There  would  be  nothing  to  regret,  for  I  could  not  have 
done  otherwise  than  that  which  I  did,  and  I  think  I  could 
not  have  done  better." 

These  words  of  Alan  Seeger's,  Ernest  Armand  Giroux 
quoted  to  his  own  mother  when  writing  of  his  decision  to 
enter  aviation  at  the  end  of  his  service  with  the  Reserve 
Mallet.  "We  are  only  doing  our  little  part,"  he  had  said 
earlier,  "you  have  always  been  the  best  of  mothers  —  and 
we  want  you  to  continue  and  be  the  bravest  of  mothers  in 
this  sacrifice."  One  of  the  finest  of  his  many  fine  quali- 
ties was  this  regard  for  her.  A  fellow  aviator  wrote  of 
him  :  "His  heart  was  as  large  as  his  body.  I  have  never 
known  a  man  who  loved  his  family  more."  Lieutenant 
Leland  Emery,  with  him  in  T.  M.  U.  days  and  later  in 
flying,  said,  "Ernest  had  a  rare  personality  that  at- 
tracted all  men  to  him  whether  they  shared  his  likes  and 
dislikes  or  not,"  which  gives  a  sidelight  upon  his  char- 
acteristic of  clinging  to  his  own  ideals,  upon  the  single- 
ness of  purpose  that  led  him,  unflinching,  over  hard 
roads. 

At  school  and  college  he  made  a  splendid  record.  His 
popularity  was  only  extended  and  strengthened  when,  in 
the  spring  of  191 7,  he  sailed  for  France  and  went  to  the 
front  as  a  sergeant  in  Camion  Section  526-B.  Ernest  had 
entered  the  war  amazingly  clear  of  vision.  He  felt  no 
rancor  against  the  individual  enemy.  "In  a  way  one 
cannot  help  but  pity  them,"  he  wrote,  "I  have  seen  pris- 
oners—  stoop-shouldered,  broken  in  spirit,  not  know- 
ing what  the  whole  thing  means,  men  driven  by  the  war 
gods  behind  them,  by  the  war  gods  who  are  to  blame,  and 
deserve  no  mercy,"  and  from  this  grew  his  fine  anger  at 
all  that  the  German  army  represented.  In  August,  191 7, 
Ernest  entered  the  American  aviation  service,  writing, 
"It  is  now  time  that  evet-y  American  take  part  in  as 
belligerent  work  as  he  is  fitted  for."   Yet  he  soothed  his 

87 


ERNEST  ARMAND  GIROUX 


mother's  anxieties  by  mentioning  the  long  period  of  train- 
ing before  he  should  be  in  danger,  but  added :  "This  is 

our  war and  you  are  doing  your  part A 

war  in  which  one  mother's  son  is  no  better  than  any  other 
mother's  son  —  one  life  no  better  than  the  next." 

After  three  months'  training  he  joined  the  103d  Pur- 
suit Squadron,  formerly  the  Lafayette  Esquadrille,  earn- 
ing a  place  in  the  regard  of  his  mates  as  a  friend  and  their 
esteem  as  a  flyer.  Lieutenant  Baer,  who  led  the  patrol  in 
which  Ernest  lost  his  life,  said  that  "although  compar- 
atively new  to  the  Squadron  he  proved  himself  a  pilot  of 

the  very  highest  quality few  others  had  the 

capabilities  and  qualities  of  your  son."  An  American 
"Ace"  says  of  his  distinguished  Service  Cross,  "no  man 
living  or  dead  deserved  one  more,"  and  the  citation  it- 
self says :  "Lieutenant  Giroux  while  on  patrol  with  four 
•other  scout  planes  attacked  an  enemy  formation  of  eight 
:monoplanes.  Two  companions  were  forced  to  retire. 
Despite  numerical  superiority  Lieutenant  Giroux  con- 
tinued the  attack,  endeavoring  to  protect  his  leader,  until 
finally  forced  down  and  killed."  Ernest's  Croix  de  Guerre 
citation  says,  "He  did  not  hesitate  to  attack  within  their 

lines "    There  was  no  hesitation  in  his  nature 

when  it  came  to  doing  the  hard,  right  things.  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel William  A.  Thaw  wrote  of  Ernest:  "In  the 
short  time  he  had  been  with  us  we  had  all  come  to  con- 
sider him  a  good  pal  and  to  admire  him  for  his  energetic 
courage."  A  good  pal,  a  thoughtful  son,  a  brave  man  — 
he  lived  and  died.  His  courage  and  faith  have  left  us  a 
"mark  to  aim  at." 


88 


PAUL  BORDA  KURTZ 

When  he  resigned  his  commission  as  commander  of  Sec- 
tion Eighteen  to  enter  the  aviation  service,  Paul  Kurtz 
wrote  to  his  parents  in  Philadelphia  :  "  I  feel  that  we  owe 
a  debt  of  gratitude  to  France  which  mere  'unlimited 
credit'  can  never  pay.  I  have  done  a  lot  of  thinking  and 
have  resolved  that  if  the  chance  should  ever  come  I 
would  show  her  that  there  are  Americans  who  could  give 
their  lives,  if  necessary,  as  long  as  they  knew  they  were 
doing  what  was  right." 

"Doing  right,"  to  Paul  Kurtz,  was  fighting  in  the  air. 
Doing  that,  he  gave  his  life  near  Toul,  France,  serving  as 
a  volunteer  chasse  pilot  in  the  famous  Ninety- Fourth 
Squadron. 

Kurtz's  intimate  friends  say  that  few  men  among  the 
thousands  who  flocked  to  the  aid  of  France  loved  that 
land  and  its  people  as  did  this  Philadelphia  youth  who 
went  from  Harvard  in  the  summer  of  191 5  to  become  one 
of  the  early  volunteers  in  the  ambulance  service. 

He  served  his  first  enlistment  in  Section  One  and  re- 
turned home  in  the  winter  of  191 5  to  complete  his  work 
at  Harvard.  July  of  the  next  year  saw  him  back  in  old 
Section  One  again.  When  the  United  States  entered  the 
war,  Kurtz  had  served  through  a  dozen  battles  scattered 
along  the  ragged  line  from  Dunkirk  to  Alsace  with  the 
famous  pioneer  unit. 

In  April  of  191 7,  Kurtz  sought  to  resign  from  the  am- 
bulance service  to  enter  aviation,  but  was  prevailed  upon 
to  curb  his  ambition  for  combat  work  that  he  might  as- 
sume command  of  Section  Eighteen,  a  fresh  unit  in  the 
field. 

Three  months  later,  feeling  that  these  new  volunteers 
had  become  veteran  ambulanciers,  he  resigned  to  offer 
himself  to  the  air  service.  He  trained  in  the  French 
schools  and  with  the  Royal  Flying  Squadron  in  England 
and  Scotland  to  become  head  instructor  of  a  new  Ameri- 
can aviation  school,  but  while  it  was  being  built,  Paul, 

89 


PAUL  BORDA  KURTZ 


eager  for  service  at  the  front,  asked  that  he  might  go 
there.  He  was  finally  assigned  temporarily  to  the  Ninety- 
Fourth  for  front-line  experience. 

Captain  Rickenbacker,  who  led  the  patrol  on  which 
Kurtz  lost  his  life,  tells  how  the  new  recruit  labored  to 
master  control  of  an  aeroplane  unfamiliar  to  him  that  he 
might  participate  in  battle.  It  was  on  the  first  critical 
patrol  over  the  lines  that  Kurtz  lost  his  life.  Returning 
home  after  his  first  fight,  his  machine  suddenly  dived 
groundward  and  burst  into  flames. 

In  his  book  Rickenbacker  writes:  "A  few  hours  later 
the  mystery  of  that  crash  was  revealed.  As  has  already 
been  mentioned,  I  had  noticed  before  starting  that  Lieu- 
tenant Kurtz  appeared  nervous,  but  had  not  given  the 
matter  any  great  consideration. 

"The  explanation  was  given  by  a  brother  ofificer  who 
had  come  with  Kurtz  to  the  squadron.  Before  starting 
on  his  last  flight,  Lieutenant  Kurtz  had  confided  to  him 
that  he  was  subject  to  fainting  spells  when  exposed  to 
high  altitudes,  and  the  only  thing  he  was  afraid  of  was 
that  he  might  be  seized  with  such  an  attack  while  in  the 
air.  Alas,  his  fear  had  been  only  too  well  founded.  But 
what  a  pity  it  was  he  had  not  confided  this  fear  to  me. 
I  had  lost  a  friend,  and  he  had  perished  in  the  manner 
most  dreaded  by  aviators." 

For  fear  of  losing  his  opportunity  to  fight,  Kurtz  had 
kept  his  secret.  Under  stress  of  bitter  attack  by  experi- 
enced opponents  on  his  first  patrol,  he  had  withstood 
their  fire  like  the  soldier  that  he  was.  The  following  day, 
when  he  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  little  American  cemetery 
near  Toul,  comrades  of  the  Ninety- Fourth  showered  the 
grave,  from  planes  overhead,  with  wreaths  of  flowers, 
their  last  tribute  to  a  chum  who  had  given  his  best,  his 
life,  for  France. 


90 


PAUL  BORDA  KURTZ 

Born  September  20,  1893,  ^^  Germantown,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  William 
B.  and  Madge  Fulton  Kurtz.  Educated  De  Lancey  School,  Philadelphia, 
and  Harvard  University,  Class  of  1916.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
August  4,  1915;  attached  Section  One  to  November  30th.  Returned  to 
America  and  secured  college  degree.  Rejoined  Field  Service,  July  29,  1916, 
and  Section  One.  Commandant  Adjoint,  Section  Eighteen,  April,  191 7,  to 
July  25,  191 7.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation.  Trained  Pau, 
France,  and  Scotland,  especially  in  gunnery.  First  Lieutenant,  attached 
>94th  Aero  Squadron.  Killed  near  Toul,  returning  from  first  patrol  between 
Pont-^-Mousson  and  St.  Mihiel,  May  22,  1918.  Buried  at  Menil-la-Tour, 
north  of  Toul.  Body  transferred  to  American  Cemetery,  Thiaucourt, 
Meurthe-et-Moselle. 


RICHARD  STEVENS  CONOVER,  20 

Born  March  18,  1898,  in  Concord,  New  Hampshire.  Son  of  Reverend 
James  P.  and  Mary  Coit  Conover.  Home,  Newport,  Rhode  Island.  Edu- 
cated St.  Paul's  School,  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  Class  of  191 7.  Platts- 
burg  Camp,  1916.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  5,  1917;  attached 
Transport  Section  526  to  November  8,  191 7.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Infantry; 
attached  Machine  Gun  Company,  i8th  Regiment,  Gondrecourt.  Killed  in 
action,  May  27,  1918,  near  Cantigny,  north-east  of  Montdidier.  Two 
American  citations.  Buried  American  Cemetery,  Villers-Tournelles, 
Somme. 


RICHARD  STEVENS  CONOVER,  2D 

A  SPORTSMAN  to  the  core,  Corporal  Richard  Stevens 
Conover,  2d,  died,  "playing  the  game  as  he  had  always 
before,  hard  and  square." 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  May  2^],  191 8,  that  this  ath- 
lete won  his  final  and  most  glorious  victory.  Command- 
ing a  gun,  at  an  outpost  near  the  German  front  line,  he 
and  his  crew  were  attacked  by  a  squad  of  fifty  or  sixty 
of  the  enemy's  picked  men.  A  companion  tells  the  story  : 

**The  Germans  wanted  prisoners  for  information,  and 
succeeded  in  capturing  two  infantrymen  in  our  front 
line.  As  the  Germans  started  back  with  their  prisoners. 
Corporal  Conover  and  his  men  picked  up  their  rifles  and 
we  all  began  to  pick  off  the  Germans  who  were  taking  the 
Americans  back.  We  succeeded  and  no  prisoners  reached 
the  German  lines.  It  was  while  we  were  trying  to  save 
these  two  men  that  Corporal  Conover  was  shot.  I  was 
lying  next  to  him  on  the  parapet.  He  was  cool,  enthusi- 
astic, doing  good  work.  He  asked  me  once  *  if  I  saw  that 
one  go  ! '  After  a  few  minutes  I  looked  around  and  missed 
him.  He  was  lying  in  the  trench.  A  man  from  his  crew 
and  I  asked  if  he  were  hurt.  He  saw  his  man  without  a 
rifle,  and  said  with  a  smile  on  his  face,  *I*m  through. 
Take  my  rifle.*  He  died  with  the  knowledge  that  he  had 
done  his  utmost  in  the  performance  of  his  duty.** 

"Dick**  Conover  was  within  two  months  of  graduat- 
ing from  St.  Paurs  School,  Concord,  New  Hampshire, 
when  the  opportunity  came  for  him  to  join  the  American 
Field  Service.  Incensed  over  the  death  of  his  favorite 
cousin,  a  member  of  the  Princess  Pat  Regiment,  then  in 
Belgium,  he  promptly  accepted  and,  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen, sailed  for  France.  Being  unusually  big  and  strong, 
he  was  chosen  for  the  camion  service,  and  drove  a  truck 
for  six  months  on  the  Aisne  front.  During  these  six 
months  he  became  very  fond  of  the  French  people  and 
felt  that  he  must  do  more  than  he  was  doing. 

So  in  November,  instead  of  returning  home,  he  en- 

91 


RICHARD  STEVENS  CONOVER,  2d 


listed  in  the  American  army  and  was  sent  almost  im- 
mediately with  a  machine  gun  corps  of  the  i8th  Infantry 
to  Gondrecourt.  After  training  there  for  some  time  they 
were  sent  to  the  trenches,  and  from  that  time  on  were 
constantly  in  action.  In  February  he  was  made  Corporal 
in  charge  of  a  machine  gun.  His  officer  said  of  him, 
"Corporal  Conover  was  one  of  the  most  manly,  upright 
characters  I  have  ever  met.  His  conduct  in  the  machine 
gun  company  was  beyond  criticism.  On  former  tours  at 
the  Front  his  high  courage  was  tested  and  proved." 

To  do  a  man's  work  in  the  war,  and  to  do  it  well,  was 
"Dick"  Conover's  sole  concern.  In  one  of  his  earlier 
letters  he  wrote,  "When  you  think  that  all  the  boys  my 
age  in  France  are  at  the  Front  you  can  hardly  say  that 
I  am  too  young.  You  must  remember  that  I  am  nine- 
teen, which  is  practically  twenty,  and  twenty  is  a  man. 
I  am  sure  if  you  were  over  here  and  actually  saw  how 
things  are,  you  would  not  consent  to  my  returning  home 
without  first  having  served  in  the  real  fight." 

Though  disappointed  at  not  being  able  to  pass  ex- 
aminations for  aviation,  while  driving  his  camion,  Conover 
managed  to  find  some  consolation  in  the  fact  that  "if  by 
any  chance  anything  should  happen  to  me.  Mother,  you 
will  know  that  my  work  here  has  not  been  in  vain,  and 
that,  however  small  a  part  I  have  played,  I  have  played 
it  with  all  my  heart."  The  magnificent  simplicity  of  it ! 
And  its  utter  genuineness  !  Just  how  whole-heartedly  he 
played  that  part  to  the  very  end  is  testified  to  by  his 
platoon  sergeant.  "Although  but  recently  in  the  service 
and  giving  promise  of  speedy  advancement,  Corporal 
Conover  gladly  and  willingly  offered  up  his  life  on  the 
altar  of  his  country,  and  died  with  a  smile,  as  honorable 
and  brave  in  death  as  in  life." 

It  was  the  end  "Dick"  Conover  most  coveted.  Big, 
patient,  and  understanding,  "cast  in  the  heroic  mould," 
as  Dr.  Drury,  head  master  of  St.  Paul's,  describes  him, 
"He  died  at  his  post — the  noblest  thing  a  man  can  do." 


92 


COLEMAN  TILESTON  CLARK 

None  of  Coleman  Clark's  friends  in  the  Field  Service  can 
recall  when  he  was  not  tenderly  known  as  "  Brake  Band," 
or  "  B.  B.,"  just  as  none  of  us  can  remember  when  he  was 
not  dear  to  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  playfully  given 
his  nickname  when  he  first  went  to  the  front  in  the  late 
spring  of  191 6  with  Section  Three,  then  working  in  the 
hills  of  Lorraine,  and  when,  as  he  wrote,  "my  car  wore 
out  three  brake  bands  in  three  days,  and  it  made  me 
wild."  To  his  companions  in  the  army  he  was  ever  after 
known  only  as"  B.  B." 

He  was  young,  was  "  B.  B.,"  and  delightfully  boyish  in 
appearance  and  spirits,  when  he  first  came  to  the  war. 
All  his  active  service,  too,  was  with  one  Section.  And  yet, 
boy  though  he  was,  and  limited  as  was  his  actual  personal 
contact  with  other  Sections,  he  very  quickly  came  to  be 
one  of  the  men  who,  with  nothing  to  make  them  known 
except  the  transmitted  force  of  a  fine  character  and  a 
quenchless  enthusiasm  for  the  cause  of  France,  really 
stood  for  something  in  the  eyes  of  the  Service  as  a 
whole. 

The  fine  record  which  he  made  in  Lorraine,  he  repeated 
at  Verdun,  and  in  the  Balkans.  "I  never  knew  a  man 
who  so  completely  won  the  respect  and  affection  of  every 
one,"  wrote  Lovering  Hill,  his  chief  for  the  entire  six- 
teen months  of  his  service  as  a  volunteer.  "Always 
bright  and  cheerful,  ever  ready  to  do  more  than  his 
share,  gentle  and  kind,  never  out  of  temper,  plucky  and 
courageous,  always  a  gentleman  —  he  rang  true  as  steel." 
And  another  member  of  Section  Three  wrote  to  his  par- 
ents at  the  time  of  his  death  :  "You  probably  never  knew 
from  Coleman  how  fond  we  all  were  of  him " 

When  America  entered  the  war,  "B.  B."  tried  to  en- 
list in  his  country's  army,  but  he  was  rejected  by  every 
branch,  on  account  of  his  eyes,  so  he  irrevocably  threw 
in  his  lot  with  the  blue-coated  poilus,  whom  he  already 
knew  so  well  and  loved  so  deeply,  by  enlisting  in  the  For- 

93 


COLEMAN  TILESTON  CLARK 


eign  Legion,  and  entering  the  French  artillery  officers* 
training  school  at  Fontainebleau. 

Graduating  as  an  aspirant  in  January,  191 8,  he  was 
attached  to  the  28th  Regiment,  Field  Artillery,  and 
served  with  distinction  at  the  front  until  he  was  mor- 
tally wounded,  on  May  28th,  during  the  last  great  Ger- 
man offensive  on  the  Aisne,  while  replacing  one  of  his 
gunners,  who  had  fallen  at  his  post  a  moment  before. 

He  was  taken  at  once  to  a  field  hospital  where  an  opera- 
tion was  considered  impossible  without  blood  trans- 
fusion. The  chief  surgeon  asked  M.  Baron,  a  hospital 
attendant,  who  was,  before  the  war,  a  Catholic  mission- 
ary in  Egypt,  and  subsequently  director  of  a  Catholic 
College  in  Cairo,  if  he  would  give  some  of  his  blood  for 
this  purpose.  "I  wept  for  joy,"  Monsieur  Baron  has 
written,  "What  would  we  not  have  done  to  try  to  save 
this  child,  the  first  American  who  had  come  into  our 
hands?" 

The  operation  was  successful  and  Coleman  was  resting 
easily  when  the  Germans,  approaching  ever  nearer  and 
nearer,  began  to  bombard  the  hospital.  It  was  necessary 
to  evacuate  the  wounded  and,  not  strong  enough  to  stand 
this  disturbance,  he  died  quietly  when  they  began  to 
move  him.  He  was  buried  the  next  day  in  the  military 
cemetery  of  Ambleny-Fontenoy,  the  colonel  of  his  regi- 
ment speaking  of  his  heroic  act  in  "going  down  from 
chief  of  two  guns  to  charging  and  firing,  as  fast  as  his 
men  fell." 

As  collected  by  his  parents,  Coleman's  letters,  written 
without  premeditation,  at  sea,  in  Paris  hotels,  in  French 
dugouts,  and  in  Balkan  cattle-sheds,  give  an  intimate 
picture  of  the  life  of  a  Field  Service  man.  They  also 
record  with  rare  charm  the  high  standards  which  we,  who 
were  by  his  side  at  their  writing,  saw  so  modestly  and  so 
unvaryingly  put  in  practice. 


94 


COLEMAN  TILESTON  CLARK 

Born  April  i,  1896,  in  Yonkers,  New  York.  Son  of  Salter  Storrs  and  Caro- 
line Goddard  Clark.  Home,  Westfield,  New  Jersey.  Educated  Westfield 
schools,  Petit  Lycee  Condorcet,  Paris ;  Kingsley  School,  New  Jersey  ;  Yale, 
University,  Class  of  1918.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  April  29,  1916; 
attached  Section  Three,  France,  and  nine  months  in  Balkans,  to  August  24, 
1917.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Aspirant,  French  Artillery  School,  Fontainebleau, 
January  24,  1918.  Attached  28th  Regiment  French  Artillery.  Mortally 
wounded  in  action,  May  28th,  Juvigny.  Died  May  29,  1918,  field  hospital, 
Fontenoy.  Buried  Ambleny.   Removed  to  Ploisy,  Aisne,  near  Soissons. 


ROGER  MARIE  LOUIS  BALBIANI 

Born  April  8,  1887,  in  Paris,  France.  Son  of  Count  and  Countess  Balbiani. 
Joined  American  Field  Service,  October  22,  1914;  attached  Section  One, 
Commandant  Adjoint,  April  18,  1915,  to  December  10,  1915.  Enlisted 
French  Aviation,  19 16.  Trained  Plessis-Belleville.  Attached  Escadrille 
Gaumont.  Killed  at  Tours,  May  21,  191 8.  Croix  de  Guerre,  two  stars  and 
a  palm.  Buried  at  Paris,  Seine. 


ROGER  MARIE  LOUIS  BALBIANI 

Roger  Balbiani  was  born  in  Paris  some  thirty  years 
ago,  and  educated  at  a  public  school  in  England  and  on 
the  continent.  Coupled  with  his  unusually  genial  nature 
was  a  certain  savoir  faire  which  made  him  at  home  in  any 
gathering.  He  had  in  addition  a  care-free,  joyous  dis- 
position that  enabled  him  to  be  happy  and  gay,  however 
trying  the  circumstances. 

"Balbi's"  history  is  that  of  Section  One  in  the  early 
days  of  1914  and  1915:  Merville  and  the  British,  then 
Dunkirk,  finally  the  terrible  days  of  the  first  gas  at- 
tacks at  Elverdinghe,  at  Popperinghe,  and  along  the 
Yser.  When  it  was  all  over  an  army  citation  and  "  Croix  " 
came  to  "Balbi"  as  leader  of  the  Section.  It  was  quite 
typical  of  his  generous  nature  that  later  on  he  tried  every 
means  of  having  his  Cross  transferred  to  another  man. 

After  a  year  with  the  Field  Service,  Balbiani  achieved 
his  heart's  desire,  being  admitted  to  the  French  aviation 
service.  His  dash  and  coolness  made  him  an  accom- 
plished pursuit  pilot.  In  191 7  he  was  sent  back  to  an 
American  flying  center,  where  he  made  many  loyal 
friends,  but  was  killed  soon  after  in  an  accident. 

The  following  are  some  of  Henry  Sydnor  Harrison's 
impressions  of  the  man  : 

"* Seniority'  does  not  always  bring  the  best  to  the  top, 
but  when  Balbiani  succeeded  to  the  leadership  of  Section 
One,  I  think  nobody  doubted  that  the  mantle  had  fallen 
where  it  rightfully  belonged.  His  unusual  education  was 
of  course  an  advantage :  in  his  contact  with  the  French 
officers,  our  superiors,  "Balbi"  was  himself,  in  every  es- 
sential, a  fine  French  officer.  As  to  speech  alone,  I  am 
positive  that  he  was  more  at  home  with  French  than 
many  Frenchmen.  It  amused  him  to  note  the  surprised 
looks  of  pedestrians  to  whom  he,  from  his  car,  shouted 
some  necessary  warning  or  bit  of  casual  repartee.  They 
could  not  understand  how  such  racy  argot  came  to  be 
issuing  from  the  lips  of  an  American  chauffeur.   But  the 

95 


ROGER  MARIE  LOUIS  BALBIANI 


gift  for  leadership  in  him  was  beyond  these  chance  ac- 
complishments. "Balbi"  was  blessed  with  the  power  of 
a  personality  at  once  decisive  and  humanly  charming  and 
persuasive.  When  need  was,  he  could  rule  like  another 
by  the  elementary  method  of  the  high  hand,  but  his 
nature  expressed  itself  most  willingly  through  the  kinder 
—  and  with  him  no  less  effective  —  means  of  suggestion. 
He  abounded  in  tact  and  *  sweet  reasonableness ' ;  deeper 
than  that,  he  was  instinctively  understanding,  he  had 
sensibilities  of  the  heart. 

"On  our  first  excited  day  behind  Ypres,  some  one  was 
needed  for  a  trivial  duty  at  the  gare  of  Popperinghe.  The 
writer,  a  newcomer,  was  plainly  indicated  for  the  in- 
glorious post,  but  when  the  chef  came  to  break  the  un- 
welcome news  to  me,  I  remember  that  he  was  as  reluc- 
tant and  gentle  as  if  my  disappointment  were  his  own. 
In  fact,  this  young  man  had  the  gentleness  which  so  often 
stirs  the  springs  of  a  brave  soul,  and  which,  I  am  in- 
clined to  think,  is  the  most  endearing  of  the  qualities 
possessed  by  the  sons  of  men. 

"Like  many  considerate  and  intuitive  persons,  *Balbi* 
had  also  the  continuing  grace  of  humor.  He  loved  to  take 
and  give  a  joke  ;  he  had  himself  a  subtle  wit  and  I  always 
think  of  him  as  merry,  and  the  memory  now  cannot 
separate  him  from  his  quick  and  understanding  laugh. 
So  he  maintained  under  every  circumstance,  however 
difficult,  that  bearing  of  'light  humorous  courage'  which, 
in  respect  to  a  man's  address  and  the  manner  of  his  at- 
tack upon  life,  is  perhaps  the  last  word  of  personal  dis- 
tinction. 

"He  saw  me  off  at  the  Dunkirk  station,  the  day  I  left 
the  Service.  We  spoke  and  passed,  and  our  courses  did 
not  recross ;  but  I  have  not  forgotten  his  gay  hail.  Ardent 
and  debonair,  he  gladly  lived,  and  it  can  not  be  doubted 
that  when  his  'black  minute'  came,  he  met  it  as  freely 
and  laid  him  down  with  a  will." 


96 


ALAN  HAMMOND  NICHOLS 

It  is  not  the  individual  that  counts,  but  the  cause  for 
which  he  labors.  So  Alan  Nichols  of  Palo  Alto  believed. 
Though  but  a  boy  in  years  he  has  left  a  record  stimulat- 
ing to  all  who  came  to  know  it.  He  distinguished  him- 
self as  a  soldier,  and  will  always  be  remembered  by  his 
friends  for  his  modest  and  utterly  selfless  attitude  toward 
life. 

When  Alan  Nichols  enlisted  as  a  volunteer  in  the  first 
Stanford  ambulance  unit,  the  town  in  which  he  had  lived 
was  decidedly  "pacifist"  in  its  viewpoint.  The  editor  of 
the  local  daily,  reading  one  of  Nichols*  letters,  asked 
that  he  might  publish  it  and  others  as  a  patriotic  duty. 
Alan  greatly  disliked  the  publicity,  but  a  reluctant  con- 
sent was  granted,  and  the  letters  became  the  feature  of 
the  local  paper.  Thus  young  Nichols  was  partly  re- 
sponsible for  swinging  the  locality  into  close  sympathy 
with  the  Allies  in  the  hitherto  remote  war. 

Perhaps  the  feature  most  striking  about  Nichols'  let- 
ters is  his  impersonal  attitude.  He  seems  to  sense  the  in- 
significance of  the  individual  in  such  a  war  —  except  his 
responsibility  to  other  millions.  This  sounds  the  key- 
note of  his  character,  which  was  sustained  during  his 
whole  career  as  a  soldier. 

Nichols  went  to  France  in  the  February  of  191 7,  with 
Section  Fourteen,  recruited  at  Stanford,  his  university. 
After  serving  almost  six  months  he  enlisted  in  the  French 
air  service.  He  received  his  preliminary  training  at 
Avord,  Tours,  and  Pau,  went  to  Plessis-Belleville,  and 
finally  was  assigned  to  chasse  flying  at  the  front.  After  a 
time,  he  was  sent  back  to  Plessis-Belleville  to  learn  the 
operation  of  the  new  Spad.  During  the  German  advance 
of  1 91 8,  Nichols  saw  continuous  combat  service  over  the 
lines. 

One  morning  early  in  June,  Nichols  was  wounded  while 
fighting  off  several  German  planes  which  had  attacked 
him  simultaneously.    Though  handling  his  machine  so 

97 


ALAN  HAMMOND  NICHOLS 


adroitly  that  but  one  bullet  hit  him,  he  was  wounded  in 
a  vital  spot.  However,  he  landed  his  machine  within  the 
French  lines  behind  Compiegne  and  was  rushed  to  a  hos- 
pital. It  was  nine  hours  before  he  could  be  placed  on  the 
operating  table,  "owing  to  the  unavoidable  confusion  at- 
tendant upon  the  German  smash,"  his  father  says,  "A 
Red  Cross  man  who  happened  to  be  there  writes  us  that 
the  boy  was  game  to  the  last  and  smilingly  thanked  the 
nurse  for  her  kindness  as  he  died." 

He  was  buried  with  full  military  honors  in  the  army 
cemetery  at  Royallieu.  Two  French  citations  were 
awarded  Nichols  for  his  valor ;  a  Croix  de  Guerre  with 
two  palms,  representing  the  two  German  planes  offi- 
cially credited  to  him.  He  was  recommended  for  the 
Medaille  Militaire,  but  did  not  receive  it,  inasmuch  as 
this  honor  is  conferred  only  upon  the  living. 

A  trait  that  made  Nichols  an  ideal  soldier  is  revealed 
in  a  letter  after  an  air  battle  when  he  wrote,  "Looking 
back  over  the  day's  action,  I  decided  that  1  was  too 
hasty,  too  excited,  and  too  wild.  I  determined  to  take 
my  time  and  be  sure  the  next  time." 

One  of  Nichols'  citations  characterized  him  as  "An 
American  citizen  who  is  serving  with  the  French  Army 
for  the  duration  of  the  war,  an  energetic  pilot,  brave, 
liigh  spirited,  a  model  of  calmness  and  devotion  to  duty. 
Very  grievously  wounded  while  attacking  an  enemy 
plane,  he  nevertheless  retained  sufficient  coolness  and 
presence  of  mind  to  bring  his  machine  back  to  our  lines." 

Nichols  was  a  youth  of  strongly  appealing  appearance 
and  personality,  and  after  his  death,  a  chum  wrote, 
"And  this  is  the  price  that  we  must  pay  to  beat  the 
Hun  —  Alan  Nichols.  A  finer,  cleaner-lived  boy  I  never 
knew." 


98 


ALAN  HAMMOND  NICHOLS 

Born  January  7,  1897,  in  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan.  Son  of  Professor  Walter  H. 
and  Esther  Connor  Nichols.  Home,  Palo  Alto,  California.  Educated 
Monrovia  and  Pasadena  schools,  and  Leland  Stanford  University,  Class  of 
19 19.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  February  14,  191 7  ;  attached  Section 
Fourteen  until  July  23,  191 7.  Enlisted  French  Aviation;  trained  Avord, 
Tours,  Pau,  Plessis-Belleville.  Attached  Spad  Escadrille  85,  Sergeant.  Croix 
de  Guerre,  two  army  citations.  Wounded  June  i,  1918,  in  action  near 
Compiegne.  Died  of  wounds,  June  2,  1918,  hospital,  Compiegne.  Buried 
with  military  honors,  Royallieu,  Oise.  Body  transferred  to  American  Cem- 
etery near  Ploisy,  Aisne. 


DONALD  ASA  BIGELOW 

Born  September  30,  1898,  in  Colchester,  Connecticut.  Son  of  Guy  M.  and 
Mary  MacDonald  Bigelow.  Educated  Colchester  public  schools,  Miller 
Commercial  School,  New  York,  and  Morse  Business  College,  Hartford. 
Private  secretary  in  Hartford,  later  with  Stenotype  Company,  and  short- 
hand court  and  public  reporter,  Boston.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
March  12,  1917;  attached  Section  Seventeen  until  August  30,  1917.  En- 
tered U.  S.  Aviation ;  First  Lieutenant.  Killed  in  aeroplane  accident,  near 
Paris,  June  3,  191 8.  Buried  American  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine.  Body  to 
be  transferred  to  Linwood  Cemetery,  Colchester,  Connecticut. 


DONALD  ASA  BIGELOW 

"He  had  the  makings  of  an  *Ace'  in  him  and  would  have 

been  a  top-no tcher ,"  Lieutenant  Estey,  99th 

Aero  Squadron,  wrote  of  Donald  Asa  Bigelow.  And  he 
would  have  been  a  "  top-no  tcher "  in  his  later  life  as  well 
as  flying  had  he  not  died  in  service  abroad.  Business 
associates  were  alive  to  his  abilities.  "Anything  he  at- 
tempts will  be  done  in  a  creditable  manner/'  wrote  one, 
and  another,  "He  was  very  exceptionally  daring  and 
successful  in  his  undertakings."  He  had  made  a  remark- 
able success  at  school,  the  principal  of  his  business  col- 
lege remarking  "Don"  as  "without  exception  the  smart- 
est and  youngest  boy  who  ever  graduated  from  the 
school."  He  was  succeeding  admirably  in  business  as  a 
reporter  in  Boston  until  he  heard  the  call  to  war  service. 
In  the  Field  Service  he  was  no  less  successful  in  winning 
the  admiration  and  regard  of  his  fellows  for  his  quiet  de- 
pendability and  courage.  Then  one  of  his  comrades  in 
aviation  says,  "  Don  was  acknowledged  one  of  our  finest 
pilots,"  and,  continuing,  "he  lived  nineteen  years,  nine- 
teen years  of  effort,  accomplishment,  and  brightest  suc- 
cess. Now  he  has  attained  that  highest  success,  beyond 
which  man  can  not  aspire." 

Bigelow,  the  youngest  of  four  brothers,  was  recalled  by 
one  of  them  as  quiet  and  industrious  even  when  a  boy. 
He  loved  to  hunt  and  fish,  spending  much  of  his  life  out 
of  doors,  and  he  entered  into  the  gypsy  life  of  the  am- 
bulancier  as  zestfully  as  he  had  into  his  sports.  "  Don  was 
always  writing  of  the  sunny  side  of  the  war  and  not  much 
about  what  he  was  doing,"  says  Dennis  Bigelow,  while 
Cecil,  another  brother,  writes  that  "he  always  wrote  very 
cheerful  letters  and  seemed  to  be  enjoying  his  experi- 
ences," the  details  of  which  never  appeared  in  his  letters. 

He  was  eager  for  service,  writing  in  May,  191 7,  from 
semi-repoSy  "Now  that  we  are  so  near  and  yet  so  far,  all 
the  fellows  are  crying  for  action"  —  his  cry  no  less  than 
theirs.    The  action  came.    During  the  summer  months, 

99 


DONALD  ASA  BIGELOW 


when  attack  and  counter-attack  at  last,  in  August,  won 
Mort  Homme  and  Hill  304  for  the  French,  "  Big"  worked 
unobtrusively  and  faithfully,  gladly  bearing  always  a 
little  more  than  his  share.  When  American  troops  ap- 
peared, Don  felt  that  "with  Old  Glory  in  the  fight,  his 
and  every  other  Yankee's  place  was  fighting  beneath  her 
stars  and  stripes."  So  he  entered  aviation. 

Richard  Varnum  of  Section  10,  who  died  recently  in 
France,  an  aviator,  and  one  of  his  closest  friends,  said 
Don  was  "expert  in  all  the  essential  acrobatics,"  and  an- 
other aviator  mentions  his  "excellent  judgment."  Don 
himself  said,  while  training  near  Paris,  shortly  before  his 
death,  "It  is  all  a  big  game.  I  am  going  out  there  to 
fight,  and  if  I  am  not  good  enough  or  am  unlucky,  I  may 
get  ^biffed  off  M" 

Lieutenant  Bigelow,  having  trained  with  fast  chasse 
planes,  on  June  3,  191 8,  took  up  an  old  Sopwith  to  test 
its  wireless.  He  attempted  to  "zoom  up"  in  his  custom- 
ary speedy  climb,  the  heavier  machine  side-slipped,  and 
he  crashed.  Bigelow  was  taken  to  a  Paris  hospital,  but 
never  recovered  consciousness,  and  died  before  they 
could  operate.  Surrounded  by  comrades,  he  was  buried 
with  military  honors  in  the  hillside  cemetery  near  Paris. 

"I  do  not  know  much  as  to  the  circumstances  of  his 
death,"  a  friend  wrote,  "but  a  thousand  good  fellows  can 
testify  how  well  he  lived."    Those  who  knew  "Don" 

join  wholeheartedly  with  the  brother  who  said,  " 

It  is  hard,  but  we  are  mighty  proud  of  First  Lieutenant 
Donald  Asa  Bigelow." 


100 


ARTHUR  BLUETHENTHAL 

When  Arthur  Bluethenthal  joined  the  Field  Service  in 
May,  191 6,  he  could  not  sign  up  for  the  full  six  months 
because  he  had  a  contract  to  coach  the  Princeton  foot- 
ball team  that  fall.  So  it  was  arranged  with  the  French 
authorities  to  reduce  slightly  in  his  case  the  period  of  en- 
listment. But,  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  return  to 
America,  it  was  his  own  deliberate  choice  to  obtain  a  re- 
lease from  his  engagements  at  home  and  to  continue  the 
career  which  was  to  lead,  from  honor  to  honor  and  with- 
out one  regret  or  looking  back,  to  his  death,  two  years 
later,  in  aerial  combat  above  the  German  lines. 

In  the  fall  of  19 16  the  Field  Service  was  expanding 
rapidly  and  "Bluie,"  as  we  called  him,  had  come  to  the 
fore  as  a  leader.  He  was  the  sort  of  man  to  whom  others 
instinctively  looked  for  guidance  and  the  sort  of  man  who 
radiated  a  spirit  of  ready  and  cheerful  co-operation,  qual- 
ities which  were  of  great  value,  when  every  liner  brought 
scores  of  new  and  undisciplined  recruits  from  America 
and  when  the  Service  was  extending  its  work  to  Northern 
Greece  and  Albania. 

"My  life  does  not  belong  to  me  now,''  he  wrote  on  one 
occasion  to  a  friend  in  America.  "It  belongs  to  France, 
to  the  Allies,  to  the  cause  to  which  I  have  pledged  it. 
And,  if  I  should  never  come  back,  I  do  not  want  you  to 
feel  badly.  I  am  glad  I  have  had  a  chance  to  live  in 
times  like  these  and  to  do  my  bit  for  the  future  of  the 

world At  home  it  was  a  holiday  all  the  time. 

Here  it  is  the  stern  facts  of  life  and  death.  And  it  is  hard 
to  explain  the  way  we  feel  about  it  all,  especially  about 
France,  we  who  have  volunteered  to  fight  for  her." 

When  America  entered  the  war,  "Bluie"  was  serving 
with  Section  Three  in  the  Balkans.  Returning  with  his 
Section  to  France  in  May,  191 7,  he  enlisted  at  once  in  the 
Foreign  Legion,  from  which  he  was  transferred  to  the  Air 
Service.  He  received  his  preliminary  training  at  Avord 
and  later  instruction  at  Pau. 

lOI 


AfttHUK'  BLDETHENTHAL 


After  a  four  weeks'  leave,  which  he  spent  with  his  par- 
ents in  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  he  joined  an  obser- 
vation group  at  the  front.  In  this  work  he  at  once  made 
his  mark.  "You  remember,'*  wrote  a  friend,  "Bluie's 
easy-going,  complacent  confidence  in  football  days? 
Well,  it  is  still  a  part  of  him  when  we  fly  over  the  German 
lines.  He  gets  in  his  plane  and  goes  up  and  does  his  work 
just  as  calmly  as  he  sits  down  to  breakfast.  That  sort  of 
nerve  helps  us  all,  the  old  flyers  as  well  as  the  new." 

Towards  the  end  of  May,  191 8,  he  was  transferred  from 
the  French  service  to  the  American  Naval  Aviation.  But 
he  refused  to  leave  his  comrades  while  they  were  engaged 
in  the  desperate  aerial  fighting,  which  marked  the  second 
of  the  great  German  drives  in  191 8.  This  gallant  act  was 
recorded  in  official  dispatches  and  endeared  him  to  his 
comrades  in  a  way  that  only  an  airman  who  has  flown  at 
the  front  through  an  attack  can  fully  appreciate.  It  was 
a  fateful  decision  for  "Bluie,"  for  his  life  ended  in  this 
battle.  He  was  killed  "while  directing  distant  artillery 
fire"  on  June  5th  and  buried  with  all  military  honors  by 
his  comrades  in  the  cemetery  at  Esquennoy,  near 
Breteuil,  in  the  Amiens  sector. 

He  was  cited  posthumously  in  Army  orders.  A  palm 
was  also  added  to  his  Croix.de  Guerre.  And,  when  news 
of  his  death  reached  Wilmington,  where  a  host  of  friends 
had  followed  his  career  with  increasing  pride  since  first 
he  went  away  to  college,  all  business  houses  closed  for  an 
hour,  all  flags  were  flown  at  half  mast,  and  a  very  im- 
pressive memorial  service  was  held  by  the  citizens  in  the 
Opera  House. 

"Let  us  pause  a  moment,"  read  the  proclamation  of 
the  mayor,  "and  do  honor  to  one  who  has  died  for  us, 
died  in  the  full  strength  of  young  manhood,  died  in  the 
conflict  of  battle,  and  dying  has  emphasized  the  creed  of 
the  soldier  —  better  a  grave  in  France  than  citizenship 
in  a  dishonored  country." 


102 


ARTHUR  BLUETHENTHAL 

Born  November  i,  1891,  in  Wilmington,  North  Carolina.  Son  of  Leopold 
and  Johanna  Bluethenthal.  Educated  Phillips  Academy,  Exeter,  and 
Princeton  University,  Class  of  19 13.  Business,  Tobacco  Products  Corpora- 
tion, New  York.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  6,  1916;  attached 
Section  Three,  France  and  Balkans,  until  May  11,  191 7.  Croix  de  Guerre 
for  conspicuous  bravery  around  Verdun.  Enlisted  French  Aviation,  June 
7,  191 7.  Trained  Avord  and  Pau.  Breveted  September  22,  191 7.  Leave  in 
America.  Attached  observation  groupe,  Escadrille  Breguet  227,  March  17, 
1918,  Sergent.  Killed  in  combat  over  the  lines,  near  Maignelay,  June  5, 
1918,  region  of  Amiens.  Croix  de  Guerre  with  palm.  Buried  Esquennoy, 
Oise,  north  of  Breteuil.   Body  transferred  to  Wilmington,  North  Carolina. 


GORDON  KENNETH  MACKENZIE 

Born  January  31,  1887,  in  Concord  Junction,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Ken- 
neth T.  and  Adelaide  H.  MacKenzie.  Educated  Concord  schools.  Business, 
Hood  Rubber  Company,  Stanley  Automobile  Company,  and  for  himself. 
Joined  American  Field  Service,  November  11,  1916;  attached  Sections 
Ten,  in  Balkans,  and  Two,  in  France.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Army  Ambulance  Ser- 
vice, September  26,  1917;  attached  Section  626.  Died  in  Beauvais,  June 
14,  1918,  of  wounds  received  in  action  near  Montdidier,  June  12th.  Croix 
de  Guerre,  with  palm.  Buried  in  Beauvais,  Oise.  Body  transferred  to 
Sleepy  Hollow  Cemetery,  Concord,  Massachusetts. 


GORDON  KENNETH  MACKENZIE 

Gordon  Kenneth  Mackenzie,  of  Sections  Ten  and 
Two,  was  one  of  those  genial,  adaptable,  and  utterly  un- 
selfish fellows  who  made  the  day  seem  bright,  no  matter 
how  damp  and  cold  and  dark  the  dugout.  "Mac,"  by 
reason  of  his  unaffected  cheerfulness,  was  always  the 
life  of  a  section. 

Several  months  before  America  entered  the  war,. 
"Mac"  joined  the  ambulance  service.  The  second 
"Salonica"  expedition.  Section  Ten,  was  being  organ- 
ized, and  he  volunteered  for  service  in  the  Balkans. 
Once  there,  his  resourcefulness  was  ever  taxed  to  keep 
the  Section  in  high  spirits  in  face  of  the  never  ending 
downpour  of  rain  and  difficulties  besetting  the  unit. 
"Mac"  made  board  walks  between  the  tents  to  keep  the 
Section  above  the  pools  of  water.  He  erected  a  fence  and 
dried  the  blankets  when  the  sun  came  out  occasionally. 
From  an  old  gasoline  can  he  made  a  stove ;  another  he 
converted  into  a  shower  bath.  He  elected  himself  Sec- 
tion barber.  En  route  he  organized  an  orchestra,  that 
talent  should  not  perish  for  want  of  practice,  he  himself 
playing  alternately  the  flute  and  the  saxophone. 

"Mac's"  unit  served  six  months  in  Albania,  after 
which  he  was  transferred  to  France.  He  joined  Section 
Two,  then  stationed  in  the  Verdun  sector  in  the  thick  of 
the  fighting.  With  this  Section,  which  afterwards  was 
Section  626,  U.  S.  A.  A.  S.,  he  served  for  nearly  a  year  in 
Lorraine,  on  the  Aisne,  and  on  the  Oise.  In  June,  191 8, 
the  48th  Zouaves,  to  which  the  Section  was  attached, 
was  thrown  into  the  counter  offensive  near  Montdidier. 
The  toll  of  wounded  was  frightful  and  the  ambulances 
were  worked  exhaustingly  long  hours.  On  June  12th 
"Mac"  was  in  a  hospital  courtyard  at  Neufvy  waitings 
for  his  car  to  be  loaded,  and  meantime  feeding  some 
wounded  Frenchmen.  Without  warning  an  obus  dropped, 
exploded,  and  blew  an  ambulance  to  pieces,  killing  sev« 
eral  Frenchmen  and  wounding  MacKenzie. 

103 


GORDON  KENNETH  MacKENZIE 


Though  the  wound  was  not  fatal  in  itself,  blood  poison- 
ing set  in,  and  "Mac*s"  life  slipped  away  on  June  14, 
1 91 8,  in  the  Hospital  at  Beauvais.  The  nurses  who  at- 
tended him  wrote  of  his  patience  and  endurance,  of  his 
consideration  for  others  in  the  ward,  and  of  the  fineness 
of  character  revealed  even  in  his  weakness. 

Everywhere  he  was  a  favorite.  Learning  of  his  death, 
a  friend  in  another  section  wrote,  "A  man  from  *  Mac's' 
section  came  into  the  hospital  to  see  me  and  told  me  of 
his  death.  He  said  that  the  unit  would  lose  fifty  per  cent 
of  its  morale  by  his  going.  It  was  *Mac,'  he  said,  who 
faced  the  music  always,  encouraged  the  others,  and  made 
light  of  every  trouble." 

MacKenzie's  character  is  revealed  unconsciously  in  his 
own  letters.  This  extract,  for  instance,  written  from  Al- 
bania, where  "Mac's"  heart  strings  were  jerked  by  the 
misery  of  Albanian  natives,  usually  overlooked  by  sol- 
diers. "Mac"  wrote,  "One  case  especially  is  that  of  the 
*  Little  Mother,'  as  I  call  her.  This  little  mite  of  a  girl, 
no  bigger  than  a  pint  of  cider,  always  comes  around  with 
a  tiny  fourteen  months'  old  babe  in  her  arms.  She  sits 
on  the  stone  walk  very  patiently,  waiting  for  our  meal  to 
end  to  see  if  she  can  scare  up  a  stray  piece  of  bread. 

"The  first  time  I  spotted  her  I  sneaked  back  and 
pinched  a  large  piece  for  her  and  also  prevailed  on  the 
cook  to  give  her  a  pail  of  left-over  soup.  I  carried  the 
soup  for  her  as  far  as  the  main  street.  Then  she  took  it 
in  one  hand,  with  the  babe  in  the  other  arm,  and  toddled 
out  of  sight.  It's  the  same  old  story  with  me.  I  just  had 
to  sneak  around  the  corner  and  pull  out  my  dirty  hand- 
kerchief to  wipe  a  few  tears  that  began  to  run  down  my 
cheeks.  I  'm  certainly  a  hell  of  a  soldier.  I  stopped  at  a 
little  store  and  bought  a  little  dress  that  I'm  going  to 
give  her.  I  could  n't  find  anything  small  enough  for  the 
thin  little  baby,  but  I  '11  try  again." 


104 


FRANK  LEAMAN  BAYLIES 

"Pilot  Baylies  killed.  Was  buried  with  honors  befit- 
ting hero,"  was  the  message  dropped  over  the  French 
lines  by  a  German  plane. 

Frank  Leaman  Baylies,  the  American  "ace  of  aces," 
when  he  was  brought  down  in  flames  over  the  German 
lines  between  Cr^vecoeur  and  Lassigny  in  June,  191 8, 
began  his  war  career  and  won  his  first  decorations  with 
the  Field  Service.    He  joined  Section  One  in  February, 

191 6,  and,  after  serving  with  distinction  on  the  Somme 
and  in  the  battle  of  Verdun  on  the  French  front,  he  was 
one  of  the  men  selected  to  go  with  Section  Three  in 
October,  191 6,  when  it  was  off^ered  the  opportunity  of 
serving  with  the  French  Army  in  the  Balkans. 

"To  know  Baylies  was  to  like  him,"  Paul  Rockwell 
cabled  the  Chicago  Daily  News  when  his  death  was  con- 
firmed. "  His  outstanding  qualities  were  those  which  real 
heroes  possess.  He  was  quiet,  modest,  and  reticent  on  the 
ground.  He  was  dashing,  fearless,  and  indomitable  in  the 
air." 

Baylies  destroyed  his  first  German  aeroplane  in  Febru- 
ary, 1 91 8.  Five  months  later,  when  he  departed  on  his 
last  mission,  he  had  twelve  official  and  five  unofficial  vic- 
tories to  his  credit.  No  pilot  in  any  army  rose  more 
quickly  or  deservedly  to  fame.  "  Baylies  seems  to  add  to 
the  daring  of  a  Guynemer  the  precision  of  a  Dorme.  He 
is  a  great  ace  who  does  honor  to  America  and  is  a  worthy 
rival  of  our  most  famous  champions,"  wrote  the  aviation 
expert  of  Le  Petit  Journal  when  the  young  American's 
name  began  to  appear  almost  daily  in  the  communiques. 

Baylies  enlisted  in  the  French  aviation  corps  when  he 
returned  with  Section  Three  from  the  Balkans  in  May, 

19 1 7.  He  received  his  training  in  the  schools  of  Avord, 
Pau,  and  Cazeaux,  where  his  record  foreshadowed  his 
later  victories  and  caused  him  to  be  selected  for  service 
at  the  front  with  the  celebrated  "Escadrille  Cigogne," 
the  squadron  which  Guynemer  commanded  until  his 

105 


FRANK  LEAMAN  BAYLIES 


death,  and  which  included  among  its  members  many  of 
the  most  noted  flyers  in  the  French  army. 

No  one  was  allowed  to  wear  the  insignia  of  this  famous 
squadron  until  he  had  brought  down  three  German 
planes.  Baylies  lost  no  time  in  doing  this.  From  the  first 
his  comrades  spoke  of  him  as  a  tireless  flyer,  who,  in  ad- 
dition to  his  regular  patrol  work,  spent  many  hours 
prowling  the  skies  alone  in  search  of  aerial  duels.  "Bay- 
lies' fighting  tactics,"  wrote  a  friend,  "were  extremely 
simple.  When  he  saw  enemy  aeroplanes  he  immediately 
attacked  regardless  of  the  odds  against  him  or  the  dis- 
tance within  the  enemy  lines." 

But  his  was  not  the  reckless  fearlessness  of  a  man  who 
did  not  realize  the  risk  he  ran.  The  testimony  of  all  of 
his  comrades  is  that  his  daring  was  the  well-considered, 
open-eyed  courage  of  a  remarkable  flyer  who  counted  the 
cost  but  never  hesitated.  In  his  many  aerial  duels  his 
plane  was  not  once  struck  by  an  opponent's  bullet,  al- 
though, when  he  first  reached  the  front,  he  was  brought 
down  between  the  German  and  French  lines  by  machine 
gun  fire  from  the  ground. 

Baylies  was  awarded  the  Legion  d'Honneur,  the 
Medaille  Militaire,  and  the  Croix  de  Guerre  with  seven 
palms.  The  city  of  his  birth  has  named  a  square  after 
him  with  solemn  services.  He  has  a  high  place  in  all  that 
has  been  written  about  the  war  in  the  air  and  those  in- 
trepid airmen  "who  took  their  toll"  and  then  made  the 
great  sacrifice.  Those  who  mourn  him  are  consoled  by 
the  knowledge  that  he  belongs  to  the  noble  company 
which  will  be  remembered  in  two  countries  so  long  as 
there  is  any  interest  in  the  World  War  and  any  reverence 
for  its  heroes. 


1 06 


FRANK  LEAMAN  BAYLIES 

Born  September  23,  1895,  in  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Ex- 
Lieutenant  Charles  S.  Baylies,  U.  S.  A.,  and  Lydia  T.  Baylies.  Educated 
New  Bedford  schools  and  Moses  Brown  School,  Providence,  Rhode  Island. 
Business  with  father  as  salesman.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  Febru- 
ary 26, 1916 ;  attached  Section  One,  later  Section  Three  in  Balkans,  October, 
19 16,  to  May  II,  191 7.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Enlisted  French  Aviation,  May 
21,  1917.  Trained  Avord,  Pau,  Cazeaux.  Breveted  September  20,  1917. 
Attached  Stork  Escadrille,  Spad  3,  December  18,  191 7.  Promoted  succes- 
sively to  Corporal,  Sergeant,  and  proposed  for  Second  Lieutenant.  Offered 
commission  in  U.  S.  Aviation  as  Second  Lieutenant,  May  13,  1918.  Twelve 
official  victories.  Legion  d'Honneur,  Croix  de  Guerre,  seven  palms, 
Medaille  Militaire,  Aero  Club  of  America's  Medal.  Killed  in  action  over 
the  German  lines,  June  17,  19 18,  near  Rollot,  Oise,  southeast  of  Mont- 
didier.   Buried  Courcelles-Epayelles,  Oise. 


EDWARD  TRAFTON  HATHAWAY 

Born  October  26,  1892,  in  Denison,  Texas.  Son  of  E.  T.  and  Lily  Bacon 
Hathaway.  Educated  Denison  and  Oklahoma  City  schools,  and  New  Mex- 
ico and  Virginia  Military  Institutes.  In  business  with  Southwestern  Gen- 
eral Electric  and  Texas  Companies,  Houston,  Texas.  Joined  American 
Field  Service,  March  12,  1917;  attached  Section  Seventeen,  to  July  7, 
191 7,  as  Sous-Chef.  Entered  U.  S.  Aviation.  Trained  Tours.  Breveted 
November  3,  191 7.  Commissioned  First  Lieutenant,  December  3,  191 7. 
Attached  90th  Aero  Squadron.  Flight  Commander.  Killed  in  aeroplane 
accident,  June  25,  1918.  Buried  at  Base  Hospital  Number  One,  near  Toul. 
Body  transferred  to  American  Cemetery,  Thiaucourt,  Meurthe-et-Moselle. 
Ultimately  to  be  transferred  to  Arlington  National  Cemetery,  Virginia. 


EDWARD  TRAFTON  HATHAWAY 

The  French  came  during  the  War  to  recognize,  admire, 
and  love  as  truly  American  that  tall,  broad-shouldered, 
smooth-chinned,  slow  of  speech  and  quiet  type  of  which 
Edward  Trafton  Hathaway  was  a  perfect  example. 

His  splendid  build  and  the  sturdiness  of  character  that 
went  with  it  served  him  well  at  New  Mexico  and  Vir- 
ginia Military  Institutes,  where  he  played  football  for 
three  years.  There  he  was  "rated  a  good  athlete  and  a 
good  student."  Colonel  Wise,  then  Commandant  of 
Cadets  at  the  Virginia  school,  regarded  him  "as  a  most 
efficient  soldier of  fine  qualities  and  bearing." 

In  1 91 3  he  entered  the  Southwestern  General  Electric 
and  subsequently  joined  the  Texas  Company  of  Houston, 
which  he  left  to  go  to  France. 

As  Sous-Chef  in  the  field  near  Verdun,  "Hath"  was 
cordially  liked  by  the  fellows  in  Section  Seventeen,  and 
was  a  chum  rather  than  their  officer.  He  perhaps  failed 
to  observe  the  necessary  formalities  which  keep  a  leader 
a  little  apart  from  the  recreations  of  his  men  and  entered 
too  readily  into  their  fun,  but  in  so  doing  he  became 
more  their  intimate  and  sympathetic  friend  than  he  other- 
wise could  have. 

For  a  time  he  had  trouble  with  his  ears,  and  in  July 
left  the  Section.  After  treatment  in  Paris,  "Hath"  en- 
tered aviation,  writing  home,  "The  work  will  be  danger- 
ous, but  as  far  as  that  goes,  all  the  branches  are  danger- 
ous in  this  war  and  I  am  going  to  do  my  part I 

am  going  to  make  you  proud  of  me."  Training  at  Tours 
he  wrote,  "  I  'd  rather  be  a  private  in  aviation  and  pilot  a 
machine  than  a  captain  in  infantry,  but  I  'm  going  to  get 
my  *  wings'  and  a  First  Lieutenancy  or  know  the  reason 
why !"  "Hath"  secured  his  hrevet  from  the  French,  No- 
vember 3,  191 7,  and  a  month  later  his  American  "wings" 
and  commission.  Until  May,  191 8,  he  remained  as  in- 
structor at  Tours  then  went  to  the  front  with  the  90th 
Aero  Squadron,  where  he  became  a  flight  commander. 

107 


EDWARD  TRAFTON  HATHAWAY 


A  comrade  called  him  "above  all,  a  man  confident  and 
enthusiastic  over  his  work."  His  enthusiasm  is  reflected 
in  his  own  words :  "  I  am  in  the  highest  and  best  branch 
of  the  army.  In  fact,  it  is  going  to  win  the  war,"  and 
again,  "There  are  going  to  be  100,000  men  slaughtered 
before  Uncle  Sam  knows  what  has  happened.  Then  we 
are  going  to  settle  down  and  conscientiously  whip  the 
Boche  to  a  standstill." 

In  October  he  had  written,  "I  like  flying  very  much 
and  am  just  lucky  enough  to  come  through  the  war  all 
right.  If  I  don't,  you  can  have  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  your  son  was  among  the  first  to  fight  for  you  and 
America,  and  was  not  a  slacker."  His  "luck"  stood  by 
him  when  his  plane  was  destroyed  in  collision  with  an- 
other and  neither  pilot  injured,  also  when  his  motor 
failed  and  he  made  a  forced  landing  in  a  plowed  field, 
unhurt.  On  June  25th,  in  the  freshness  of  the  summer 
morning,  starting  out  on  a  mission  over  the  lines,  as 
"Hath"  climbed,  circling  above  the  field,  "in  some  in- 
explicable manner,"  as  a  brother  aviator  wrote,  "the  ma- 
chine  became   uncontrollable   and   fell Trafton 

died  instantly  without  pain,  and  his  observer  within  an 
hour." 

And  it  may  be  that,  at  the  last,  his  "luck"  still  held 
to  bring  that  quick,  heroic,  painless  end  to  the  boy-man 
who  had  cried  so  bravely,  "I  am  going  to  make  you 
proud  of  me!" 


108 


WARREN  TUCKER  HOBBS 

"Don't  worry,"  wrote  Warren  Tucker  Hobbs,  "Flying 
is  the  most  fascinating  game  I  ever  played.  It  is  even 
better  than  hurdling/'  He  loved  to  play  the  game,  this 
tall,  clean-limbed  athlete,  and,  as  a  brother  flyer  said, 
"The  qualities  which  served  him  on  the  track  made  him 
a  fearless  and  a  skilful  pilot."  By  this  same  skill  and 
courage  in  combat,  Warren  won  the  confidence  of  all  his 
comrades,  to  whom  from  the  start  "his  ready  humor 
and  constant  desire  to  help  others  endeared  him  might- 
ily." Which  helps  to  explain  how  bitterly  his  loss  was 
felt  among  his  fellows,  when,  within  a  month  of  joining 
the  103d  Pursuit  Squadron,  he  was  killed,  his  machine 
being  struck  by  an  anti-aircraft  shell  and  falling  inside 
the  British  lines.  "The  news  dazed  me  for  days,"  said  a 
classmate;  "He  was  one  of  the  finest,  dearest  chaps  I 
have  ever  known,  and  the  world  has  lost  a  real  man." 

As  a  schoolboy  Warren  won  great  popularity  and  prom- 
inence through  his  running.  Yet,  while  "one  of  the  great- 
est hurdlers  and  high  jumpers  any  preparatory  school 

ever  had, in  everything  he  showed  an  engaging 

modesty."  Entering  Dartmouth  with  the  Class  of  1919* 
his  athletic  success  waxed  greater,  but  even  without  it  a 
man  of  Warren's  character  must  have  won  hosts  of 
friends.  As  it  was,  he  became  in  two  years  one  of  the  big 
figures  of  his  college  generation,  captaining  the  college 
track  team  as  a  sophomore.  He  set  up  a  world's  record 
in  indoor  hurdling  in  competition  with  the  best  runners 
in  collegiate  circles,  and  was  frequently  referred  to  as  a 
"one  man  track  team." 

But  for  Warren  Hobbs  these  games,  however  engross- 
ing, were  secondary  to  the  one  big  game  of  living  and 
doing  one's  part  in  life  according  to  one's  ideals.  Warren 
gave  up  college  soon  after  war  was  declared  and  joined  a 
Dartmouth  unit  of  the  American  Field  Service.  Even  as 
he  went  to  the  front  with  Transport  Section  526  of  the 
Reserve  Mallet,  he  was  planning  eagerly  to  transfer  to 

109 


WARREN  TUCKER  HOBBS 


aviation,  and  inside  of  a  month  secured  his  release  from 
the  Field  Service.  Two  days  later  he  enlisted  in  the 
French  air  service.  After  the  regulation  training  at 
Avord,  Tours,  Pau,  and  Plessis-Belleville,  he  served  with 
two  Spad  Escadrilles,  N-153  and  N-158,  until  March, 
191 8,  when  he  was  commissioned  a  First  Lieutenant  in 
American  Aviation  and  went  to  the  103d  Pursuit  Squad- 
ron. Several  times  he  narrowly  escaped  death  or  cap- 
ture. His  first  accident  came  as  he  was  returning  on 
January  30,  191 8,  from  patrol  over  the  German  lines. 
His  gasoline  gave  out,  he  was  forced  to  land  in  rough 
ground  and  his  plane  turned  over,  injuring  him  quite 
badly.  Immediately  upon  leaving  the  hospital  he  re- 
turned to  his  escadrille,  only  to  have  another  fall.  This 
time  fortunately  he  received  hardly  a  scratch. 

In  Flanders,  southeast  of  Ypres,  his  last  adventure 
came  to  Warren  Hobbs.  At  half  past  seven  in  the  even- 
ing of  June  26  he  rose  from  his  field  alone,  attempting 
to  overtake  his  patrol  which  had  left  some  minutes 
earlier.  He  flew  toward  the  lines,  gaining  altitude  as  he 
went,  but,  because  his  engine  was  not  functioning  prop- 
erly, crossed  into  German  territory  still  quite  low.  Then 
the  unusual  occurred.  His  machine  was  struck  by  a 
shell.  In  the  words  of  a  flyer:  "An  angry  black  puff 
sprang  out  close  beside  the  distant  plane,  which  veered 
and  fell  flaming  in  the  British  lines."  There  he  is  buried 
in  the  consecrated  ground  of  Flanders. 

Warren's  own  words,  written  of  men  he  had  seen  die 
in  action,  apply  aptly  to  him  who  followed  them,  "Just 
the  same,  you  can't  help  thinking  what  a  wonderful  way 
it  is  to  die ;  and  I  know  there  is  nothing  too  good  in  the 
world  beyond  for  a  man  who  dies  game,  fighting  for  the 
right." 


no 


WARREN  TUCKER  HOBBS 

Born  November  3,  1895,  in  Worcester,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Wilber  W. 
and  Marina  Tucker  Hobbs.  Educated  Worcester  Classical  High  School, 
Worcester  Academy,  and  Dartmouth  College,  Class  of  1919.  Joined  Ameri- 
can Field  Service,  May  5,  191 7  ;  attached  Transport  Section  526  until  June 
8,  191 7.  Enlisted  French  Aviation,  June  10,  191 7.  Attached  Escadrilles 
N  153  and  N  158,  December  11,  1917,  to  March  16,  1918,  as  Corporal. 
,  Entered  U.  S.  Aviation ;  attached  103d  Pursuit  Squadron.  Killed  by  anti- 
aircraft fire  over  the  lines  near  Ypres  on  June  26,  1918.  Buried  in  British 
Military  Cemetery,  Poperinghe,  West  Flanders,  Belgium. 


GOODWIN  WARNER 

Born  January  17,  1887,  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  William  P. 
and  Hetty  Rogers  Goodwin  Warner.  Educated  Cambridge  and  Thatcher 
schools,  California,  Noble  and  Greenough  School,  Boston,  and  Harvard 
University,  Class  of  1909.  In  business.  Stone  and  Webster,  Boston  ;  farmed 
at  Littleton,  Massachusetts ;  traveled  in  tropics.  Joined  American  Field 
Service,  June  2,  1917  ;  attached  Transport  Sections  184  and  133.  Enlisted 
U.  S.  Army  Motor  Transport  Corps ;  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant 
"Q.  M.  C.  Died  of  pneumonia,  June  29,  1918,  American  Camp  Hospital 
Number  4,  at  Joinville-le-Pont,  Seine.   Buried  Suresnes,  Seine. 


GOODWIN  WARNER 

"Nobody  ever  saw  him  down  on  his  luck."  This  a  close 
friend  writes  of  Goodwin  Warner,  adding,  **It  was  a 
source  of  wonder  that  he  was  never  heard  to  complain 
of  his  misfortune."  For  in  childhood  had  begun  his  weary 
struggle  against  a  severe  chronic  asthma.  It  affected  his 
entire  career  and  caused  an  amount  of  actual  suffering 
which  few  of  his  friends  ever  realized,  because  he  hid  it. 
Yet  through  all  his  life  he  retained  his  'Very  keen  sense 
of  humor  and  an  even  disposition  which  allowed  him  to 
take  things  as  he  found  them."  Courage  and  good  nature 
were  two  of  his  many  fine  qualities  and  although  long 
periods  of  illness  prevented  his  joining  in  the  life  and  ac- 
tivities of  his  friends,  "he  made  hundreds  of  them." 

After  two  years  in  California  and  two  winters  in  the 
Maine  woods,  he  went  to  Noble  and  Greenough  School 
in  Boston  and  entered  Harvard  in  the  Class  of  1909,  with 
which  he  graduated.  As  a  sophomore  he  recovered  from 
a  dangerous  attack  of  pneumonia,  "largely,"  writes  a 
friend,  "because  of  the  grit  and  determination  which  his 
chronic  sickness  had  developed."  After  graduating  he  en- 
tered the  office  of  Stone  and  Webster,  Boston,  but  un- 
able to  stand  the  confinement  of  office  work,  he  bought  a 
farm  in  Littleton,  Massachusetts,  and  began  raising 
apples.  About  a  year  before  the  war  he  sold  his  orchards 
and  devoted  the  intervening  time  chiefly  to  travel  in  the 
tropics,  studying  natural  history.  This  was  his  hobby, 
his  interest  being  most  particularly  in  ornithology,  and 
he  was  an  authority  on  New  England  birds. 

With  the  coming  of  war  Goodwin,  anxious  to  get  into 
the  service  and  not  waiting  for  the  departure  of  the  regu- 
lar organizations,  sailed  independently  for  France,  joined 
the  American  Field  Service,  and  in  June,  1917,  was  sent 
to  Transport  Section  184  of  the  Reserve  Mallet,  where 
he  became  Sous-Chef,  In  October,  having  graduated 
from  the  French  Automobile  Officers'  School  at  Meaux, 
he  became  Commandant  Adjoint  of  T.  M.  133.  When  the 

III 


GOODWIN  WARNER 


American  Army  took  over  the  Reserve,  Goodwin  was 
commissioned  a  Second  Lieutenant  and  placed  in  com- 
mand of  Company  360  of  the  Motor  Transport  Corps. 
The  Command"  jng  Officer  of  the  American  Mission  wrote 
that  he  "rendered  very  valuable  and  efficient  service. 
During  the  past  critical  weeks  his  efforts  and  enthusi- 
asm were  continued  and  indefatigable,  and  won  for  him 
the  deep  appreciation  of  the  French  and  American  offi- 
cers associated  with  him,  and  his  promotion  to  the  com- 
mand of  a  groupe  which  was  announced  during  his  last 
illness."  For  a  month  or  more  in  memory  of  him  this 
groupe  bore  his  name. 

During  the  spring  of  191 8  his  company  was  under  ex- 
cessive strain  and  although  he  already  felt  the  touch  of 
the  influenza  epidemic,  Goodwin  Warner  threw  himself 
into  the  work  with  every  bit  of  his  energy.  As  a  con- 
scientious leader  he  stayed  for  days  and  nights  on  the 
road  with  his  men.  He  fell  sick,  pneumonia  developed 
rapidly,  and  on  June  26th  he  was  taken  to  the  hospital 
at  Joinville-le-Pont,  east  of  Paris,  where  he  died  two 
days  later. 

Commandant  Mallet  spoke  thus  at  the  military  fu- 
neral:  "His  fellow  officers  cannot  speak  too  highly  of 
him  as  a  good  and  trusty  friend ;  his  men  have  always 
known  him  as  a  kind  and  reliable  leader.  As  for  myself, 
it  is  my  desire  to  acknowledge  before  you  all  the  deep 
debt  of  gratitude  the  French  Army  owes  to  Lieutenant 
Warner,  who  came  to  serve  our  country  before  his  own 
needed  him  and  who  has  ever  since  been  performing  his 
military  duties  with  such  devotion  and  efficiency.  In  the 
name  of  the  Director  of  the  French  Automobile  Service, 
in  the  name  of  my  Reserve,  I  wish  him  a  last  farewell, 
and  address  the  expression  of  our  deep  sympathy  to  his 
family  and  to  those  who  are  mourning  to-day  an  affec- 
tionate friend,  a  promising  officer,  and  a  perfect  gentle- 
man.*' 


112 


GEORGE  WAITE  GOODWIN 

**  First  or  last  the  war  will  come  very  close  to  most  of  us^ 
and  we  would  n't  have  it  otherwise.  My  ^g^reatest  horror 
would  be  to  have  to  occupy  a  place  of  safety.  We  who* 
can  take  an  active  part  are  fortunate.  If  anything  should 
happen  to  me  I  would  call  my  family  foolish  if  they 
were  n't  glad  rather  than  sad  that  I  had  done  so  well.** 

George  Waite  Goodwin  wrote  this  from  France  to 
cheer  and  comfort  a  girl  friend  who  had  lost  her  husband 
in  the  war  ten  days  after  her  marriage,  little  thinking 
perhaps  the  solace  it  was  to  be  to  his  family  in  the  event 
of  his  own  not-distant  death.  His  attitude  toward  all  the 
perplexing  problems  of  life  was  like  this, —  simple, 
straightforward,  and  clear-seeing.  "Certainly  one  could 
hunt  through  the  histories  from  the  beginning  and  never 
find  a  better  time  to  live  or  better  cause  to  die  for."  In 
the  light  of  his  own  high-minded  patriotism  it  was  not 
difficult  for  his  family  to  be  courageous  even  when,  a 
month  later,  there  came  the  news  that  he  had  been 
killed.  It  happened  on  the  morning  of  July  15,  191 8,  at 
Ch^teauroux.  One  of  his  friends  of  school  and  college 
days,  Lieutenant  Norman  C.  Fitts,  who  was  in  training 
with  him  at  the  time,  describes  the  accident  with  the 
dramatic  brevity  of  aviators :  *' There  is  not  much  to  tell 
of  it.  A  collision  at  one  hundred  meters  height  in  which 
neither  he  nor  the  man  who  ran  into  him  saw  the  other 
until  too  late.'*  He  was  buried  next  day  with  full  mili- 
tary honors  in  the  beautiful  American  Cemetery  of 
Ch^teauroux. 

Goodwin  graduated  with  honors  from  Andover  in  1912! 
and,  after  four  happy,  conscientious  years,  from  Yale.. 
He  spent  a  year  at  the  Harvard  Law  School,  but  inter-^ 
rupted  his  course  to  enter  the  American  Field  Service  on 
June  25,  191 7.  He  was  sent  out  to  Section  Sixty-nine  and 
spent  the  summer  near  Verdun,  evacuating  wounded 
from  the  famous  posts  of  Bras  and  Vacherauville.  In 
October  he  enlisted  in  the  American  Air  Service.   Ea- 

113 


GEORGE  WAITE  GOODWIN 


tering  immediately  upon  his  period  of  apprenticeship  he 
was  commissioned  a  Second  Lieutenant  on  May  15,  1918, 
and  had  advanced  so  rapidly  in  training  that  in  the 
words  of  Lieutenant  Fitts,  "he  promised  to  be  the  first 
to  get  through."  For  his  work  at  the  French  aviation 
school  of  Ch^teauroux,  upon  recommendation  of  the 
commander,  he  received  the  medal  of  the  Ligue  Aero- 
nautique  de  France  as  one  of  the  most  meritorious  pupils. 
He  had  a  keen,  interested  way  of  looking  at  events  and 
persons,  and  was  often  picturesque  in  expressing  what 
he  saw.  In  one  letter  written  in  the  Ambulance  service 
he  described  how  he  watched  the  front  line  in  action 
through  holes  in  the  cloth  camouflage  by  the  roadside, 
and  compared  himself  to  a  small  boy  peering  through  a 
rip  in  the  tent  of  "a  circus  of  which  I  could  see  only 
enough  to  whet  my  curiosity."  The  charm  of  his  frank, 
open  personality  won  friends  for  him  everywhere,  one  of 
whom  wrote,  "He  could  n't  help  but  be  popular  with  us 
and  he  was  easily  that  one  of  us  who  was  best  liked  by 
the  French  officers  and  instructors  at  the  school."  While 
at  a  camp  near  Tours,  shqrtly  after  he  had  enlisted  in 
aviation,  he  tells  in  his  diary  of  walking  home  from  Tours 
with  the  cool  evening  breeze  blowing  against  his  face  and 
the  countryside  soft  and  mellow  in  the  twilight,  and  of 
thinking  out  his  duty  in  regard  to  the  war.  That  night 
he  wrote,  "It  is  quite  fixed  now  in  my  mind  that  if  ever 
I  return  to  the  front  I  will  go  up  against  the  Germans, — 
no  matter  how  many  they  may  be."  It  was  his  tragedy, 
like  that  of  many  others,  never  to  have  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  meeting  the  enemy  face  to  face,  but  a  circum- 
stance so  trivial  cannot  dim  the  luster  of  his  courage,  nor 
the  glory  of  his  death. 


114 


GEORGE  WAITE  GOODWIN 


Born  July  31,  1895,  in  Glen  Falls,  New  York.  Son  of  Scott  DuMont  and 
Sarah  Waite  Goodwin,  Home,  Albany,  New  York.  Educated  Phillips 
Academy,  Andover;  Yale  University,  Class  of  1916;  and  Harvard  Law 
School,  Class  of  1919.  Plattsburg,  1916,  Marksman.  Joined  American 
Field  Service,  June  25,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Sixty-nine  until  October  24, 
191 7.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation,  November  5  ;  trained  Tours,  Saint-Maixent, 
Gondrecourt,  and  Chateauroux.  Commissioned  Second  Lieutenant,  May 
15,  1918.  Killed  in  aeroplane  accident,  Chateauroux,  July  15,  1918. 
Buried  American  Cemetery,  Chateauroux,  Indre.  Body  transferred  to 
Rural  Cemetery,  Albany,  New  York. 


RANDOLPH  ROGERS 

Born  October  26,  1897,  in  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan.  Son  of  John  R.  and 
Grace  H.  Rogers.  Educated  Grand  Rapids  High  School,  Class  of  1916. 
Joined  American  Field  Service,  April  i,  191 6;  attached  Section  Eight  to 
September  13,  1916.  Ill,  typhoid.  Returned  to  America,  October,  1916. 
University  of  Michigan  until  February,  191 7.  To  New  Mexico  recuperating 
from  breakdown.  Enlisted  as  Private,  U.  S.  Infantry,  July,  at  Columbus 
Barracks.  K  Company,  38th  Regiment,  Syracuse,  New  York.  Promoted 
to  Corporal,  then  Sergeant.  Reached  France,  April,  19 18.  Killed  by  shelly 
inaction  July  15,  1918,  near  St.  Eugene,  east  of  Chateau-Thierry.  Buried 
American  Cemetery,  Fere-en-Tardenois,  Aisne. 


RANDOLPH  ROGERS 

Randolph  Rogers  was  but  eighteen  years  of  age  and 
just  completing  the  last  year  of  his  high  school  course 
when  he  enlisted  in  the  American  Field  Service  in  April, 
19 16.  Yet  he  did  the  work  of  a  man  with  Section  Eight 
on  the  Champagne  and  Verdun  fronts  during  the  spring 
and  summer  of  that  year.  His  commanding  officer  wrote 
of  him :  **He  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  Section 

Eight and  the  youngest  member  at  that.    He 

was  always  one  who  could  be  relied  upon  to  do  the  job 
given  him,  no  matter  how  difficult,  and  to  go  about  it 
quietly  and  efficiently.  He  was  deeply  interested  in  his 
work  and  all  that  was  going  on  around  him.  Later  he  was 
badly  affected  by  dysentery,  but  continued  his  work. 
He  would  lie  on  his  cot  and  sleep  until  his  turn  came  and 
then  always  insisted  upon  taking  his  place." 

While  in  Paris  on  a  forty-eight  hour  leave,  July  4, 
191 6,  he  was  found  to  be  suffering  from  typhoid  fever 
and  was  cared  for  in  the  American  Hospital  at  Neuilly 
until  September.  On  returning  to  this  country  about 
October  first,  he  entered  the  University  of  Michigan,  but 
in  February,  191 7,  his  health  again  broke  down  and  he 
was  sent  to  New  Mexico  to  recuperate. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  on  his  return  to  Grand 
Rapids  in  June  he  made  no  effort  to  secure  a  commission 
or  an  easy  berth  on  this  side  of  the  water,  although  fully 
realizing  from  his  past  experiences  what  war  meant.  In- 
stead, as  one  of  his  classmates  wrote :  "He  immediately 
enlisted  as  a  *buck  private,'  for  he  knew  where  he  could 
do  the  most  good  for  Uncle  Sam."  After  five  weeks  at 
Columbus  Barracks  he  was  sent  to  Syracuse  and  there 
assigned  to  K  Company,  38th  Infantry,  in  which  organi- 
zation he  served  until  his  death.  He  was  made  corporal 
in  November,  191 7,  and  sergeant  in  April,  191 8,  soon 
after  his  arrival  in  France  with  the  3rd  Regular  Division 
of  Infantry.  After  training  near  Chaumont,  the  regi- 
ment was  sent  to  the  front  on  May  30th,  serving  on  the 

115 


RANDOLPH  ROGERS 


Marne,  west  of  Chateau-Thierry,  until  the  German 
retreat. 

Randolph  was  killed  by  an  exploding  shell  on  the  morn- 
ing of  July  15,  1 91 8.  A  fellow  sergeant  in  K  Company 
wrote:  "Our  company  was  located  near  a  small  village 
called  St.  Eugene,  in  the  vicinity  of  Chateau-Thierry  and 
about  a  mile  from  the  Marne  River.  At  exactly  mid- 
night of  the  14th  of  July  the  Germans  commenced  a  ter- 
rific artillery  fire  directed  over  the  entire  sector.  At  day- 
break the  whole  company  came  from  their  dugouts, 
forming  a  line  to  meet  the  Germans  who  were  expected  at 
any  moment.  I  saw  your  son  come  down  and  fall  into 
line  about  fifty  feet  from  me,  but  as  the  shelling  was 
terrific  I  did  not  !make  an  effort  to  speak  to  him  for  some 
time.  After  I  had  helped  locate  the  men  I  called  to  him, 
and  receiving  no  answer,  crawled  over  to  where  he  had 
been,  and  they  said  that  a  shell  had  just  hit  him.  He  died 
about  three  hours  later." 

Randolph  Rogers  played  his  part  to  the  end  in  the 
great  drama.  Unusually  well  built  for  his  age,  with  fine 
features  and  a  charming  personality,  he  immediately  won 
the  affection  of  anyone  who  had  the  good  fortune  to  be 
thrown  with  him.  As  a  proof  of  this  sentiment,  the  fol- 
lowing letter  to  his  father  from  a  comrade  is  sufficient : 

"I  assure  you  that  your  sorrow  is  shared  by  every 
soldier  who  knew  your  son  and  that  his  name  will  ever 
be  mentioned  by  what  few  K  Company  men  are  left  as 
the  model  which  we  wish  our  sons  to  follow  if  they  ever 

have  the  misfortune  to  take  part  in  any  war One 

of  the  bravest  men  who  ever  wore  the  uniform  of  any 
country.'* 


116 


JOHN  RALSTON  GRAHAM 

Loathing  the  war  intensely,  frankly  fatalistic  about  its 
outcome  for  him,  Lieutenant  John  Ralston  Graham  was 
yet  of  the  calibre  which  voluntarily  precipitates  itself 
into  the  most  hazardous  and  hardworking  branch  of  the 
service,  wins  a  Croix  de  Guerre  and  special  recognition 
for  individual  merit,  and  dies  on  the  battlefield,  leading 
his  men  in  an  attack.  War  held  no  glamour  for  him.  As 
an  ambulance  driver  in  191 5-1 6,  in  Bois-le-Pretre,  and 
in  the  first  battle  of  Verdun  he  saw  much  of  its  terror  and 
sordidness.  He  won  his  Croix  de  Guerre  for  bravery  in 
rescuing  women  and  children  at  Bar-le-Duc,  where  he 
drove  his  ambulance  through  an  especially  venomous  air 
raid  during  the  battle  of  Verdun.  Although  he  returned 
to  the  United  States  at  the  expiration  of  his  eight 
months'  service  with  Section  Two  of  the  American  Field 
Service,  as  soon  as  America  declared  war,  he  entered  the 
Fort  Niagara  officers'  training  camp,  graduating  as  a 
Lieutenant,  and  returned  to  France  early  in  September, 
191 7,  as  one  of  the  first  fifty  of  our  men  to  reach  the 
battlefront.  From  that  time  on  until  his  death  he  was 
in  almost  constant  action  and  participated  in  nearly  all 
the  great  battles  preceding  the  Soisson's  offensive. 

As  a  Lieutenant  of  Infantry  with  the  Eighteenth  Regi- 
ment he  experienced  all  of  the  hardships  and  horrors  that 
only  can  fall  to  the  infantryman's  lot.  His  letters  tell 
with  marvelous  vividness  of  twenty-one  day  stretches 
In  the  front  line  trenches,  short  relief,  then  immediate 
return  to  the  fighting.  They  tell,  too,  of  combat  patrols 
planned  and  executed  by  him,  and  of  attacks  in  which 
there  were  "intervals,  minutes  mostly,  which  I  don't 
want  ever  to  recall,  when  I  have  been  at  my  lowest, 
nothing  but  a  beast,  yelling,  cursing,  crying,  alternately 
—  consumed  with  but  one  thought  —  to  kill,  kill,  kill." 

Though  he  revolted  from  it  all,  he  worked  untiringly, 
and  his  record  shows  steady  advancement.  Shortly  be- 
fore his  death  he  was  appointed  Intelligence  Officer,  and 

117 


JOHN  RALSTON  GRAHAM 


already  he  had  been  recommended  for  the  rank  of 
captain. 

He  died  in  the  Soissons  offensive,  which  marked  the 
beginning  of  the  end  of  the  War,  being  killed  in  the  tur- 
moil of  battle  on  July  i8,  1918,  bya  fragment  of  flying 
shell.  Of  his  death  Reverend  Murray  Bartlett,  Chaplain 
of  the  Eighteenth  Infantry,  wrote,  "  Indeed  you  have  the 
consolation  that  the  sacrifice  of  his  splendid  young  man- 
hood was  part  of  the  price  paid  for  one  of  the  critical 
victories  of  all  history *' 

In  the  same  strain  a  companion  wrote,  "This  war  takes 
the  bravest  and  the  best Yet,  speaking  for  my- 
self, it  seems  to  me  that  if  my  time  to  go  had  arrived  I 
should  ask  nothing  better  than  to  fall  at  the  high  tide  of 
a  charge,  leading  men  on  to  a  victory  which  has  proved 

to  be  the  turning  point  of  the  whole  war Your 

son  was  respected  universally  as  a  courageous,  capable, 
and  promising  officer.  He  lived  up  to  the  confidence  re- 
posed in  him." 

How  great  is  the  respect  and  pride  which  his  memory 
commands,  appears  from  the  letters  of  his  friends,  all  of 
whom,  without  a  single  exception,  express  the  privilege 
and  honor  they  felt  in  sharing  his  friendship.  One  writes, 
"It  does  n*t  seem  possible  that  great,  big,  carefree  *  Joe,' 
whom  we  all  depended  on,  and  looked  up  to,  has  been 
killed.  My  pride  in  him  is  the  only  thing  which  could 
possibly  cheer  me  up.  I  have  lost  one  of  the  best  friends 
a  fellow  could  have  —  but  how  proud  I  am  to  have  had 
such  a  wonderful  friend." 

Another  adds,  "  I  am  proud  and  honored  to  have  known 
Ralston  all  these  years,  and  to  have  been  one  of  his  best 
and  dearest  friends.  We  all  loved  him.  A  brave  man,  a 
true  gentleman,  and  a  never-failing  friend  will  be  our 
memory  of  him  always." 


118 


JOHN  RALSTON  GRAHAM 

Born  December  29,  1890,  in  Philadelphia.  Son  of  John  T.  and  Anne 
Ralston  Graham.  Educated  Episcopal  Academy,  Philadelphia,  and  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  Class  of  1914.  Engineer  on  Panama  Canal,  1913, 
later  with  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  Novem- 
ber 17,  1915  ;  attached  Section  Two  until  May  17,  1916.  Croix  de  Guerre. 
Returned  to  United  States.  Entered  Fort  Niagara  Training  Camp.  Com- 
missioned First  Lieutenant.  To  France,  September,  191 7,  with  i8th  In- 
fantry. Recommended  for  Captaincy.  Killed  in  action,  July  18,  1918,  be- 
tween Cutry  and  St.  Pierre-Aigle,  south  of  Soissons.  Buried  there,  later 
transferred  to  American  Cemetery  at  Ploisy.  Now  buried  in  West  Laurel 
Hill  Cemetery,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 


CARLETON  BURR 

Born  August  29,  1891,  in  Milton,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  I.  Tucker  and 
Alice  M.  Peters  Burr.  Educated  Noble  and  Greenough  School,  Boston, 
Milton  Academy,  and  Harvard  University,  Class  of  1913.  Plattsburg 
Camp,  Grenfell  Mission.  With  Kidder,  Peabody  and  Company  and  Paul 
Revere  Trust  Company,  Joined  American  Field  Service,  February  12, 
1916  ;  attached  Section  Two,  as  C^g/ with  Section  Nine,  August,  1916,  to 
January  21,  191 7.  Returned  to  America.  Enlisted  U.  S,  Marine  Corps, 
June.  Commissioned  Lieutenant,  training  at  Quantico,  Virginia,  attached 
6th  Regiment  Marines.  Battallion  Intelligence  Officer.  Gassed,  Belleau 
Wood,  June,  1918.  Killed  in  action  near  Vierzy,  July  19,  1918.  Burial 
place  unknown. 


CARLETON  BURR 

**//  nefaut  pas  Hre  difficile,  c*est  la  guerre ,**  wrote  Carle- 
ton  Burr  while  an  ambulance  driver  with  the  American 
Field  Service ;  "  This  philosophy  has  actually  already  be- 
come a  part  of  my  existence,  and  I  assure  you  that  the 
constant  rumble  of  artillery  is  more  musical  to  my  ear 
than  the  sordid  drone  of  the  ticker." 

While  in  college  he  spent  a  summer  with  the  Grenfell 
Mission  in  Newfoundland  and  Labrador,  and  after  grad- 
uating from  Harvard  in  191 3,  made  a  hunting  trip  in  the 
mountains  of  Wyoming.  Returning  to  Boston  in  Oc- 
tober, he  was  associated  with  several  banking  houses 
until  1 91 6.  In  February,  Carleton  Burr  turned  his  back 
on  the  "droning  tickers"  and  joined  the  allied  armies  in 
France.  He  enlisted  in  the  American  Field  Service  going 
to  Section  Two,  near  Verdun,  where  he  found  the  sec- 
tion in  the  midst  of  the  terrific  battle. 

Carleton  fitted  at  once  into  his  place.  He  wished  al- 
ways for  the  most  active  work,  "and  the  longer  the 
hours  the  more  he  threw  himself  into  the  work,  but  in 
work  or  play  he  always  added  to  his  list  of  friends."  "  I 
have  come  not  only  to  like  him  personally,  which  any- 
one would  at  first  glance,  but  also  to  have  real  esteem 
for  his  abilities,  and  his  qualities  of  mind  and  character,*" 
wrote  the  chief  of  the  Service  at  this  time,  saying  that  he 
was  "fitted  by  his  tact  and  his  unusual  combination  of 
gentleness,  energy,  and  force  to  meet  the  very  difficult 
task  of  handling  a  group  of  volunteers." 

This,  with  his  loyal  service  and  fine  spirit,  led  to  Burr's 
selection  in  June  as  Chef  of  newly  formed  Section  Nine, 
August  saw  them  established  in  the  Vosges  where 
"Chubby"  wrote  of  the  seeming  inactivity:  "Patience 
in  times  such  as  this  is  the  hardest  virtue  to  acquire. 
Luckily  nothing  but  solitary  confinement  can  prevent 
the  forming  of  friendships.  .  .  ."  "  At  every  turn  one 
finds  a  new  situation,  a  new  experience,  staring  one  in 
the  face,  which  no  matter  how  impossible  it  may  seem 

119 


CARLETON  BURR 


at  first,  can  be  overcome  with  a  sense  of  humor."  This 
was  the  philosophy  with  which  Carleton  met  the  life  of 
the  war  —  and  death. 

Returning  to  America  in  February,  191 7,  Burr,  after 
some  months  in  business,  enlisted  in  the  Marine  Corps. 
He  was  one  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  accepted  as 
officers  out  of  four  thousand  applicants  and  was  sent  to 
Quantico,  Virginia,  for  training.  Only  six  weeks  later 
^* Chubby"  was  assigned  a  command  and  sent  to  France. 
Cxcneral  Catlin  says:  ''Because  of  his  initiative  and 
'daring  he  was  made  intelligence  officer  of  the  ist  Brigade 
-and  achieved  some  remarkable  successes  at  patrol  work." 
Burr  had  charge  of  the  snipers  which  he  called  a  "not 
particularly  healthy  duty,"  but  the  ability  to  laugh  at 
dangers  and  discomforts  never  deserted  him.  Of  his 
iirst  "  hitch  "  in  the  trenches  he  wrote  :  "  Can  you  imagine 
^living  for  twenty  days  in  the  upper  berth  of  a  Pullman, 
which  is  dripping  water  from  the  roof  and  is  literally  in- 
fested with  rats?  Everything,  however,  you  take  as  a 
joke."  Unconsciously,  in  speaking  of  his  men,  he  shows 
how  he  had  won  their  admiration  and  devotion,  when  he 
says  **The  enemy  will  never  get  me,  for  I  have  the  most 
wonderful  crew  of  youngsters  to  follow  me.  They  would 
never  leave  me,  dead  or  wounded,  to  the  mercy  of  the 
Huns." 

During  the  fighting  at  Belleau  Wood  in  June  "Chub- 
by" was  gassed  and  invalided  to  Angers.  Upon  leaving 
the  hospital  he  marched  in  the  parade  in  Paris  on  Bastille 
Day  and  rejoined  his  command  July  i8th,  when  the  new 
offensive  really  began. 

Next  morning,  leading  his  men  in  a  successful  wave  of 
the  big  attack,  Carleton  Burr  was  struck  in  the  side  by  a 
piece  of  shrapnel,  and  fell.  "In  the  land  he  loved  next 
to  his  own  he  will  always  lie,  content  that  he  could  give 
his  all  to  the  greatest  cause  of  the  age." 


120 


STUART  MITCHELL  STEPHEN  TYSON 

With  a  courage  and  a  conviction  characteristic  of  so 
many  of  our  American  soldiers,  Stuart  Mitchell  Tyson 
gave  his  life  to  France  and  her  Cause  willingly,  con- 
sciously, considering  it  a  privilege.  It  was  his  final 
protest  against  a  world  wrong  —  it  was  his  glorious  con- 
secration to  the  simple  faith  that  Right  is  Might  in  a 
christianized  world.  Literally,  and  confidently,  he 
"died  to  make  men  free." 

Sergeant  Tyson  was  born  in  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin, 
March  12,  1898.  He  was  educated  at  a  school  in  Oxford, 
England,  and  at  the  Haverford  School,  Pennsylvania. 
In  1915  he  entered  the  Midvale  Steel  Company.  A  year 
later  he  left  for  France  as  an  ambulance  driver,  serving 
with  Section  One  along  the  Verdun  front  in  the  hard 
winter  of  191 6- 17  when  the  French  division,  with  which 
it  served,  was  engaged  in  the  recovery  of  Vaux  and  Dou- 
aumont.  At  the  end  of  six  months  he  enlisted  in  the 
French  Army  as  an  aviator,  and  after  the  necessary 
period  of  training  was  breveted,  and  sent  to  the  front  in 
December,  191 7,  where  he  served  with  the  Esquadrille 
Spad  85  until  July  19,  1918,  the  day  of  his  death.  He 
was  killed  in  action  near  Chateau-Thierry,  while  attack- 
ing eight  German  monoplanes.  In  recognition  of  his 
heroism  he  received  the  Croix  de  Guerre  with  palm. 

The  following  extracts  from  letters  to  his  father  are 
characteristic  of  the  spirit  of  this  man.  On  May  i, 
191 7  he  wrote :  "I  am  delighted  with  my  work  here,  in 
the  ambulance  service,  and  am  wrapped  up  in  the  cause 

of  France.    I  have  decided  to  give  myself  to  her 

Knowing  your  sentiments  on  the  war,  I  am  sure  you  will 
have  no  objections  to  my  doing  what  little  I  can  for 
France.  Dear  Father,  I  realize  that  my  chances  for 
getting  through  are  pretty  slim,  but  it  is  well  worth  it  by 
my  having  a  chance  to  help  crush  those  devils." 

And  just  a  year  later.  May  i,  191 8,  he  writes  from  the 
Aviation  Service,   '*We  have  been  constantly  moving 

121 


STUART  MITCHELL  STEPHEN  TYSON 

from  place  tx)  place,  and  are  now  right  in  the  thick  of  the 
big  battle.  What  a  sight  it  is,  seen  from  the  air.  The 
endless  train  of  men  and  supplies  coming  up  from  the 
rear,  the  narrow  strip  of  No-Man*s  Land  with  its  cloud 
of  smoke  and  fire  caused  by  the  never  ceasing  rain  of 
shells,  and  above,  the  German  planes  circling,  in  and  out 
of  the  clouds,  like  great  birds  waiting  for  a  chance  to 
strike.  Our  group  has  been  assigned  to  shooting  up  the 
German  column  as  they  march  up  from  the  rear.  We 
fly  very  low,  so  you  can  imagine  what  two  machine  guns 
on  each  aeroplane,  flying  full  in  the  face  of  the  enemy, 
can  do.  It  is  very  exciting  work.  We  are  in  the  tra- 
jectory of  shells  from  both  sid^,  with  anti-craft  guns 
shooting  up.  I  have  had  awfully  good  luck.  Not  been 
touched  yet,  although  my  machine  has  been  badly  hit 
twice." 

An  appreciation  from  his  commanding  officer  attrib- 
utes to  him  all  of  the  highest  qualifications  of  a  real  man 
and  soldier. 

"Stephen  Tyson  was  a  brave  and  capable  pilot,  al- 
ways ready  to  do  more  than  his  duty,  and  was  beloved 
by  all  his  comrades  in  the  Esquadrille." 


122 


STUART  MITCHELL  STEPHEN  TYSON 

Born  March  12,  1898,  in  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  Son  of  Reverend  Stuart 
L.  and  Katharine  Rosengarten  Tyson.  Home,  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 
Educated  school  in  Oxford,  England,  and  Haverford  School,  Pennsylvania. 
Midvale  Steel  Company,  19 15.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  October  14, 
1916  ;  attached  Section  One  until  April  14,  191 7.  Enlisted  French  Aviation, 
May  15th.  Trained  Avord,  Pau,  and  Plessis-Belleville.  Breveted  October 
16,  191 7.  Attached  Spad  Escadrille  85,  December  19,  191 7,  Sergent. 
Killed  in  action,  July  19,  1918,  near  Dormans.  Croix  de  Guerre,  with  palm. 
Buried  in  France. 


STUART  CARKENER,  2D 

Born  June  24,  1897,  in  Boulder,  Colorado.  Son  of  George  S.  and  Nell  Evans 
Carkener.  Home,  Kansas  City,  Missouri.  Educated  grade  schools  and 
Country  Day  School,  Kansas  City,  and  Princeton  University,  Class  of  1919. 
Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  26,  191 7  ;  attached  Transport  Section 
133  to  November  17,  191 7.  December  returned  to  America.  Enlisted  in 
U.  S.  Field  Artillery,  76th  Regiment,  as  private.  To  France,  April,  19 18. 
Promoted  to  Corporal.  Killed  by  shell,  July  30,  19 18,  near  Roncheres, 
northeast  of  Chateau-Thierry.  Buried  Villadale  Farm,  near  Roncheres, 
Aisne.  Body  transferred  to  Belleau  Cemetery,  Aisne,  and  to  rest  ultimately 
beside  his  mother  in  Forest  Hill  Cemetery,  Kansas  City,  Missouri. 


STUART  CARKENER,  2D 

Stuart  Carkener,  2D,  said  in  his  last  letter  to  his 
family,  "Whatever  you  do,  don't  worry  about  me,  as  I 
can  assure  you  that  every  time  I  hear  a  shell  coming  my 
way  I  soon  find  some  safe  ditch/*  Just  four  days  later, 
however,  when  it  became  necessary  to  deliver  an  impor- 
tant message  from  an  advanced  observation  post,  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  leave  his  "safe  ditch,"  but  struck  out 
calmly  across  the  cornfield  where,  midway,  he  was  mort- 
ally wounded  by  an  exploding  shell.  The  4th  U.  S. 
Infantry  had  been  held  up  by  German  machine  guns. 
Corporal  Carkener  and  his  two  companions  had  located 
the  nest  by  successful  reconnoissance,  and  he  and  one 
companion  decided  to  risk  the  journey  rearward  to  carry 
the  information.  They  left,  wrote  the  sergeant  who 
stayed  in  charge  of  the  post,  with  terrible  matter-of- 
factness,  "thinking  that  one  of  them,  possibly,  could  get 
through  all  right ! "     But  neither  one  arrived  ! 

At  Princeton  Stuart  played  on  his  freshman  and  var- 
sity soccer  teams,  and  has  been  described  by  a  classmate 
who  retains  a  vivid  impression  of  him,  as  "attractive, 
popular,  and  congenial,  with  a  friendly  word  for  every- 
one." 

In  May,  191 7,  he  sailed  for  France  in  the  American 
Field  Service  where  he  served  for  six  months  in  the  cam- 
ion branch,  driving  in  one  of  the  trains  of  trucks  that  de- 
livered shells  from  the  railroads  to  the  batteries  before 
and  during  the  great  battle  of  the  Chemin  des  Dames. 
His  letters  were  clear  and  vivid,  characterized  above  all 
by  their  refreshing  honesty  and  freedom  from  heroics. 
He  was  always  careful  to  verify  everything  about  which 
he  wrote,  and  in  his  desire  to  prevent  his  family  from 
worrying  he  went  almost  to  an  extreme  in  minimizing 
the  danger. 

In  December,  1917,  he  returned  to  the  United  States 
and  made  plans  to  enter  service  in  our  Army.  It  was 
his  determination  to  return  to  France  immediately,  and 

123 


STUART  CARKENER,  2d 


he  declined  to  make  any  effort  to  enter  officers'  training 
camps  in  this  country,  for  which,  by  his  education  and 
experience,  he  was  well  fitted.  After  looking  the  situa- 
tion over  he  enlisted  in  the  76th  Field  Artillery,  being 
advised  that  this  regiment  was  to  be  among  the  next  to 
sail.  In  April,  191 8,  he  embarked  for  France  a  second 
time.  After  three  weeks  of  training,  his  regiment,  on 
the  night  of  July  14th,  found  itself  in  a  little  village  not 
far  from  Chateau-Thierry  with  the  German  barrage 
roaring  and  crackling  about  their  heads.  The  casualties 
were  great  that  night  owing  to  the  lack  of  shelter,  and 
Corporal  Carkener,  for  he  had  received  his  promotion 
during  the  period  of  training,  was  obliged  to  work  "as 
stretcher  bearer,  trench  and  grave  digger"  for  twenty 
hours,  during  eight  of  which  he  wore  a  gas  mask.  Then 
came  the  Allied  advances,  of  which  he  wrote,  "They 
mean  all  sorts  of  work  for  us,  but  as  long  as  they  are  in 
the  right  direction  you  can  bet  we  don't  mind  the  extra 
hardship,"  and  at  that  point  we  must  piece  on  the  story 
of  that  heroic  sacrifice  in  the  cornfield. 

Of  the  many  tributes  that  have  been  paid  to  Carkener, 
he  himself  would  have  probably  valued  most  that  which 
came  from  his  sergeant,  a  man  whom  he  never  would 
have  met  but  for  the  accident  of  war,  and  who  wrote  to 
Stuart's  father,  "He  was  a  sort  of  a  quiet  lad,  a  very 
entertaining  talker,  and  he  was  forever  helping  some  one 
to  figure  out  problems.  Every  one  in  the  outfit  missed 
him  just  because  he  was  a  *  regular  fellow.'  Your  son 
did  his  bit,  Mr.  Carkener,  and  he  died  with  his  boots  on 
just  like  every  soldier  wants  to  die." 

No  true  soldier  could  wish  a  higher  fame  than  the 
words  above  his  grave. 

"  Glorieusement  mort  au  champ  d  'honneur,face  d  I  'ennemi,  lejojuillet  iprS, 
Stuart  Carkener  II,  soldat  amSricain," 


124 


MALCOLM  TROOP  ROBERTSON 

"When  I  needed  someone  with  plenty  of  grit  and  bull- 
dog courage,  I  always  picked  Malcolm,  and  he  never 
failed  me."  Malcolm  Troop  Robertson  earned  this 
voluntary  commendation  from  his  platoon  commander 
after  ten  months  of  devoted  service  as  a  first  class  private 
in  the  "Stokes  Mortar"  platoon,  of  the  Headquarters 
Company,  165th  Infantry.  Sergeant  Fitzsimmons  writes 
that,  when  the  regiment  first  "went  in,"  near  Lune- 
ville,  "Private  Robertson,  on  account  of  his  knowledge 
of  the  language,  volunteered  to  stand  guard  *with  the 
French  sentry'  every  night  during  the  regiment's  stay 
in  the  trenches,  which  was  four  times  his  required  duty, 
*to  warn  more  understandingly  and  quickly  of  gas- 
alarms  or  attack.' "  In  Champagne,  two  weeks  before 
his  death,  with  two  "non-coms,"  Malcolm  stood  by  his 
gun,  "when  ordered  to  seek  shelter,  during  a  fierce 
bombardment,  and  by  sending  over  a  perfect  barrage  of 
Stokes  Mortar  shells  drove  the  enemy  from  our  wire." 
It  was  for  such  acts  that  "his  coolness  under  fire  became 
a  byword  in  the  company,  and  behind  his  back  the  boys 
remarked  on  his  nerve."  "The  most  courageous  man 
in  my  platoon  ....  at  times  I  took  advantage  of  it 
and  used  him  in  many  a  trying  situation,"  Lieutenant 
McNamara  wrote,  "and  at  the  Ourcq  when  I  gave  him  a 
chance  to  volunteer,  he  was  right  there  with  his  plea  of 

*take  me  with  you,  Lieutenant* and  he  gave 

his  fine  young  life  to  his  country." 

On  that  30th  of  July,  1918,  the  165th,  advancing 
rapidly  and  out  of  touch  with  its  artillery  supports,  was 
"hung-up"  by  a  strong  machine  gun  nest  in  the  Meurcy 
farmhouse  at  the  Ourcq  River.  This  had  to  be  silenced 
before  the  regiment  could  move  on.  A  volunteer  squad 
of  six  men,  including  Robertson  went  forward  into  the 
open  with  two  mortars  to  blast  away  the  obstruction. 
With  no  time  to  "dig  in,"  the  order  to  open  fire  found 
them  in  an  exposed  position.     Immediately  they  were 

125 


MALCOLM  TROOP  ROBERTSON 


answered  by  a  concentrated  shelling  from  a  battery  be- 
hind the  farm.  The  officer  had  gone  ahead  to  make  ob- 
servations, the  sergeant  had  retired,  wounded,  and  when 
there  was  a  suggestion  of  wavering  under  the  wilting 
bombardment  it  was  "Robbie"  who  took  charge,  as  his 
citation  reads,  holding  the  men  by  the  strength  and  in- 
spiration of  his  example.  They  "stuck"  and  their  fire 
broke  up  a  developing  counter-attack,  but  when  the 
shelling  ceased  Malcolm  was  found  dead  beside  his  gun, 
killed  by  a  shell. 

At  Princeton,  too,  he  had  been  "on  the  job,"  earning 
his  class  numerals  and  a  degree  although  he  left  to  join 
the  Field  Service  before  his  graduation.  In  those  dark 
hours  following  the  battles  of  the  Yser,  he  served  with 
Section  One  in  the  north  —  driving  among  the  dunes  of 
Coxyde,  under  the  long-range  shells  in  Dunkirk,  and  be- 
neath avion  bombs  at  Nieuport.  In  the  autumn  he  re- 
turned to  complete  his  studies,  and  enlisted  in  the  7th 
Regiment  of  New  York  when  America  entered  the  war. 
He  transferred,  as  a  private,  to  the  165th  Infantry  and 
went  again  to  France  with  the  42d  Division  in  October, 

1917. 

His  constant  eagerness  to  do  the  hardest  things  in- 
cluded no  thought  of  recognition,  although  he  was  cited 
by  French  and  Americans.  His  almost  reckless  courage 
and  cool  disregard  of  danger  expressed  his  spirit  of 
patriotism  and  gave  evidence  of  his  desire  to  give  himself 
completely  to  the  cause  for  which  he  was  at  the  last  to 
die.  His  lieutenant  wrote,  "I  buried  Malcolm  that 
evening,  and  while  the  Boche  were  shelling  I  knelt  in 

prayer  at  his  grave "     And  his  next  words  might 

almost  be  Malcolm's  own  last  brave  message  to  his 
people,  for  Lieutenant  McNamara  said,  "What  a  glori- 
ous death !  To  die  for  one's  country,  for  right  and 
justice." 


126 


MALCOLM  TROOP  ROBERTSON 

Born  August  2,  1894,  in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  Son  of  Doctor  Victor  A,  and 
Maria  Cochran  Robertson.  Educated  Prospect  Heights  and  Polytechnic 
Preparatory  Schools,  and  Princeton  University,  Class  of  191 5.  Joined 
American  Field  Service,  April  28,  1915  ;  attached  Section  One  to  July  18, 
1915.  Returned  to  America.  Enlisted  7th  Regiment,  N.  Y.  N.  G.,  June 
27,  191 7 ;  voluntarily  transferred  to  165th  Infantry  for  overseas  service. 
Killed  in  action  at  the  Ourcq  River,  July  30,  1918,  near  Villeneuve-sur- 
Fere.  Recommended  for  Croix  de  Guerre  and  D.  S.  C.  Buried  American 
Cemetery,  Seringes-et-Nesles,  Aisne.  Body  to  be  transferred  to  American 
Cemetery,  Belleau  Wood. 


WALTER  BERNARD  MILLER 

Born  November  9,  1893,  ^^  New  York  City.  Son  of  Bernard  and  Valeska 
Hager  Miller.  Educated  New  York  schools.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Navy,  191 1; 
attached  U.  S.  S.  Des  Moines  and  U.  S.  S.  Leonida.  Honorably  discharged, 
1914.  May  to  August,  1916,  International  Mercantile  Marine  Lines,  cadet 
officer,  S.  S .  Siberia  and  Philadelphia.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  De- 
cember 2,  19 16  ;  attached  Vosges  Detachment  until  June  2,  191 7.  Enlisted 
French  Aviation,  June  10,  191 7.  Trained  Avord,  Juvisy,  and  le  Plessis- 
Belleville.  Breveted  October  10,  191 7.  Transferred  to  U.S.  Aviation. 
Commissioned  Second  Lieutenant,  April  i,  1918;  attached  First  Observa- 
tion Group.  Killed  in  aerial  combat,  August  3,  19 18,  north  of  Chateau- 
Thierry.  Buried  there. 


WALTER  BERNARD  MILLER 

In  1916,  before  this  country  had  declared  war  against 
Germany,  Walter  Bernard  Miller,  a  lad  of  German  par- 
entage but  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  volunteered  to 
serve  France  and  went  to  drive  an  ambulance  on  French 
soil.  His  action  embodies  the  great  triumph  of  the  cause 
of  democracy  —  the  supremacy  of  an  ideal  over  all  racial 
prejudices. 

Son  of  Bernard  Miller,  Walter  was  born  in  New  York 
City  where  he  received  both  his  elementary  and  high 
school  training,  being  orphaned  by  the  tragic  death  of 
his  parents  in  the  Slocum  disaster.  Upon  the  comple- 
tion of  his  schooling,  he  enlisted  at  eighteen  in  the  United 
States  Navy.  During  his  four  years  of  service  he  was 
present  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Des  Moines  at  the  scene  of  several 
West  Indian  and  Central  and  South  American  revolu- 
tions and  pseudo-revolutions.  He  was  in  Tampico, 
Mexico,  during  the  critical  times  of  19 14,  and  on  the 
U.  S.  S.  Leonida  he  went  out  with  the  Naval  Survey. 
Something  of  a  soldier  of  fortune,  yet  first,  last,  and  al- 
ways, he  was,  in  the  best  sense,  a  soldier,  and  a  soldier  of 
the  highest  standing.  Lieutenant  Hinricks,  his  division 
officer  on  the  Des  Moines  during  19 13  and  1914,  testifies 
that,  "  .  .  .  .  Miller  never  neglected  his  duties  or  the 
less  thrilling  routine  ship's  work,  and  did  everything  he 
was  called  upon  to  do,  cheerfully." 

He  received  his  honorable  discharge,  and  entered  the 
International  Mercantile  Marine  Lines  in  May  of  19 16. 
Miller  was  a  cadet  officer  on  the  steamships  Siberia  and 
Philadelphia  for  three  months,  shortly  thereafter  joining 
the  American  Field  Service. 

December  2,  191 6,  he  sailed  on  the  Rochambeau  for 
France  and  upon  his  arrival  was,  with  six  of  his  country- 
men, organized  into  the  Vosges  Detachment,  which  con- 
tinued in  Alsace  the  work  begun  by  Section  Three.  Here 
for  six  months  he  labored,  driving  his  ambulance  over 
some  of  the  steepest  and  most  dangerous  mountain 

127 


WALTER  BERNARD  MILLER 


roads  of  the  western  front.  Joseph  R.  Greenwood  writes 
of  this  work :  "While  the  Vosges  Detachment  made  no 
records  for  '  number  of  kilometres  run '  still  it  played  its 

part It  kept  alive  in  the  minds  of  the  Alsatians 

the  knowledge  that  America  was  with  them  in  spirit 
even  before  we  entered  the  war " 

When  the  term  of  his  enlistment  expired,  America  had 
entered  the  war  and  Miller  sought  more  active  service. 
He  enlisted  with  the  Lafayette  Flying  Corps  and  re- 
ceived his  training  with  the  French.  When  United 
States  aviators  arrived  in  France  he  transferred  to  the 
1st  Observation  Group  as  a  Second  Lieutenant.  A  com- 
rade writes  of  him  in  the  history  of  the  Lafayette  Flying 
Corps  :  "Those  of  us  who  lived  in  the  same  barrack  with 
Miller  will  never  forget  him  —  his  gaiety,  his  optimism, 
his  generosity,  his  fine  careless  courage.  On  dreary  eve- 
nings   it  was  Miller  who  cheered  us  with  his  in^ 

exhaustible  repertory  of  songs  and  stories On 

the  front  he  earned  the  reputation  of  an  indefatigable 
flyer,  aggressive,  determined,  and  brave  as  a  lion.*' 

On  August  3,  191 8,  in  the  fighting  between  Soissons 
and  Fismes,  Lieutenant  Miller,  with  eight  companions 
met  a  squadron  of  thirty  Fokkers,  and  was  shot  down.. 
A  fellow  aviator  says  that  he  was  "  the  oddest,  drollest, 
and  most  likable  of  men.  His  life  was  a  kaleidoscopic 
succession  of  adventures  by  land  and  sea ;  surveying  the 
coast  of  Central  America,  running  shells  through  the 
submarine  blockade  to  Archangel,  driving  an  ambulance 
on  the  Western  Front,  piloting  an  aeroplane  in  some  of 
the  heaviest  fighting  of  the  war,  and  meeting  death  in  an 
epic  combat  against  thirty  enemy  machines." 

Walter  Bernard  Miller  is  mourned  as  an  individual  by 
those  who  knew  and  loved  him,  and  by  generations  to- 
come  he  will  be  honored  as  one  who  helped  lay  the  corner- 
stone for  the  foundations  of  a  real  brotherhood  of  men.. 


128 


CLAYTON  CAREY  ELLIS 

Long  before  Clayton  Carey  Ellis  made  his  ultimate  sac- 
rifice in  the  service  of  France  he  had  earned,  by  the 
happy  combining  of  likable  personality  and  abilities  well 
above  the  average,  the  esteem  and  affection  of  his  French 
and  American  comrades  in  the  war  just  as  earlier  he  had 
of  his  schoolmates.  *'I  should  not  know  how  to  say 
which  was  the  greater  —  the  admiration  or  the  love  I 
felt  for  him"  said  the  aumonier  of  the  division  in  writing 
to  Clayton's  parents,  and  went  on  '' c6tait,  sans  Sxager- 
ation,  Vun  des  meilleurs  jeunes  gens  que  dans  ma  carriere 
de  pretre,  il  nia  ete  donne  d'approcher,  et  comme  le  tout 
etait  recouvert  de  la  plus  sincere  modestie,  faffirme,  sans 
craintej  que  le  tres  cher  Clayton  representait  d  mes  yeux 
rideal  dujeune  hommeJ'  "His  sincerity  and  gentleness 
were  as  much  a  part  of  him  as  his  sense  of  duty,"  wrote 
Frederic  Colie,  a  fellow  driver  in  Clayton's  section.  A 
memorial  notice  published  by  the  art  school  he  had  at- 
tended spoke  of  "his  power  for  leadership,"  saying  that 
"  Clayton's  influence  within  the  school  was  strong,  whole- 
some, and  fine  —  all  regarded  him  as  a  friend."  At  high 
school,  too,  he  won  exceptional  popularity,  being  class 
president  for  four  years.  In  addition  he  was  a  splendid 
athlete,  and  had  a  very  fine  tenor  voice.  He  possessed 
also  marked  aptitude  for  painting. 

Clayton  was  studying  art  in  Boston  and  doing  settle- 
ment work  in  addition  when  America  declared  war.  He 
seized  his  opportunity  and  sailed  for  France  in  May 
with  a  Dartmouth  unit  of  the  Field  Service  which  went 
to  the  front  as  Section  Twenty-Eight.  Of  him  a  hran- 
cardier  priest,  le  pasteur  Caldesaignes,  said  "None  of 
those  who  had  been  in  close  contact  with  him  could 
otherwise  than  become  attached  to  him." 

He  was  quiet  and  practical,  a  conscientious,  enthu- 
siastic worker,  ''volontaire  pour  toutes  les  missions  peril- 
leuses"  says  his  army  citation  for  the  Croix  de  Guerre. 
In  describing  his  reactions  Clayton  himself  found  that 

129 


CLAYTON  CAREY  ELLIS 


"like  everything  I  have  ever  done  I  have  entered  this 
work  with  no  greater  thrills  than  those  experienced  on 
the  hay  press  or  the  football  field  —  just  a  matter  of 
business  on  hand  to  be  done  according  to  my  best  judg- 
ment." To  his  former  schoolmates  his  letters  were  "con- 
stant, cheerful,  and  optimistic"  and  his  work  abroad 
was  done  "in  the  same  buoyant  spirit  known  and  re- 
membered in  studios  and  classrooms."  With  many  in- 
terests and  broad  sympathies  Clayton  was  very  sensitive 
to  the  suffering  of  others.  "Nothing  disheartens  me," 
he  said,  "as  when  IVe  done  all  in  my  power  to  give  my 
man  an  easy  trip,  feeling  his  pains  at  every  bump,  suf- 
fering with  him  during  long  waits  on  the  road,  and  then 
to  see  him  die  as  he  is  taken  from  the  car."  He  had 
hoped,  upon  enlisting  in  the  ambulance  service  for  the 
duration  of  the  war,  that  he  might  secure  a  non-com- 
missioned officer's  rank  but  he  was  not  one  of  those  first 
selected  and  he  remarked  philosophically  "so  I  must 
play  the  good  soldier  until  my  turn  comes  —  if  it  ever 
does."  His  sense  of  humor  and  good  temper  lifted  him 
over  many  difficulties,  much  as  he  says  "my  old  voiture 
has  carried  me  safely  through  quite  a  bit.  Never  failed 
me  in  time  of  need  —  in  fact  we  are  two  of  a  kind  :  built 
not  for  speed  but  for  service." 

He  did  not  fail  or  falter  once  in  his  service.  On  the 
night  of  August  6th,  after  midnight,  he  was  carrying 
wounded  through  the  shadowy,  blasted  streets  of  Reims 
when  a  shell  struck  close  and  a  splinter  pierced  Clayton's 
head,  killing  him  instantly.  In  the  words  of  his  school- 
mates, "he  died  as  he  had  lived  bravely  doing  his  duty 
as  he  saw  it,  and  in  the  cause  of  his  fellowmen."  "This 
is  warfare"  a  comrade  wrote  "a  man  lives  from  minute 
to  minute,"  and  to  the  end  Clayton  Ellis  lived  his  every 
minute  well. 


130 


CLAYTON  CAREY  ELLIS 

Born  July  13,  1895,  in  Somerville,  Massachusetts,  Son  of  Charles  L.  and 
Dora  Smith  Ellis.  Educated  Somerville  schools  and  Massachusetts  Normal 
Arts  School,  Class  of  19 19.  Taught  at  Peabody  Settlement  House,  Boston. 
Joined  the  American  Field  Service,  May  5,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Twenty- 
eight.  Enlisted  in  U.  S.  A.  Ambulance  Service,  September  17,  19 17.  Kill- 
ed by  shell  in  action  at  Reims,  August  7,  19 18.  Buried  Seringes- 
et-Nesles,  Aisne.   Body  transferred  to  Longley  Cemetery,  Sidney,  Maine, 


ROBERT  HARRIS  BARKER 

Born  March  20,  1894,  in  Hanson,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Albert  F.  and 
Lucy  Reynolds  Barker.  Home,  West  Bridgewater,  Massachusetts.  Edu- 
cated Brockton  schools  and  Rhode  Island  State  College,  Class  of  191 8. 
Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  19,  191 7  ;  attached  Transport  Section 
184  to  November  13,  191 7.  Joined  Mallet  Reserve  of  U.  S.  Motor  Trans- 
port Corps.  Sergeant.  Transferred,  March,  1918,  to  i6th  U.  S.  Infantry 
as  private.  Died  August  10,  19 18,  in  American  hospital  near  Paris,  of 
wounds  received  in  action,  July  20-22  near  Soissons.  Cited,  U.  S.  Army 
orders.  Buried  American  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine.  Body  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  Fern  Hill  Cemetery,  Hanson,  Massachusetts. 


ROBERT  HARRIS  BARKER 

Company  I,  i6th  Infantry,  First  Division,  pushed 
through  the  wheatfields  in  the  outskirts  of  Soissons  on 
the  morning  of  July  20,  19 18,  occupying  the  post  of  honor 
in  the  center  of  the  coiinter  attack.  The  company  ob- 
jectives had  almost  been  reached  with  only  slight  casual- 
ties, when  suddenly  the  men  found  themselves  on  the 
parapet  of  an  occupied  German  trench  and  at  the  same 
moment  a  terrible  cross-fire  broke  out  from  hidden 
machine  gun  nests.  The  company  had  no  orders  to  retire 
so  they  stayed.  When  they  were  extricated  from  the  trap 
a  few  days  later  by  the  victorious  advance,  at  roll  call 
Company  I  numbered  twenty-four  men  and  no  officers, 
and  Private  Robert  Harris  Barker  was  listed  among  the 
"missing  in  action."  The  story  is  incomplete.  We  can 
only  guess  at  the  deeds  of  heroism  that  were  performed 
out  there  in  the  wheatfield, —  the  sacrifices  that  were 
made,  —  the  splendid  courage  and  devotion  that  enabled 
the  shattered  platoons  to  hold  on  when  it  seemed  they 
must  retreat.  But  we  are  sure  that  Robert  was  in  the 
midst  of  it  fighting  joyously,  madly,  when  he  was  struck 
down.  How  long  he  lay  badly  wounded  in  the  head  and 
arms,  without  medical  aid,  we  do  not  know.  He  was 
finally  sent  to  an  American  base  hospital  outside  of  Paris, 
and  there  in  the  evening  of  August  10,  his  life  went  out 
with  the  fading  day.  He  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of 
Suresnes  just  across  the  Seine  from  the  Bois  de  Boulogne 
where  he  had  loved  to  roam  during  the  early  days  in 
Paris  in  the  American  Field  Service. 

As  a  small  boy  Robert  showed  the  spirit  that  was  his. 
One  winter,  just  before  his  thirteenth  birthday,  he  was 
struck  and  severely  wounded  by  a  double-runner  sled. 
Though  suffering  intensely  and  almost  unconscious  from 
loss  of  blood  the  little  fellow^s  first  thought  was  to  exon- 
erate the  boy  who  had  run  into  him.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
he  was  enrolled  in  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  class  and  though  on 
account  of  his  size  he  was  put  among  the  older  boys,  he 

131 


ROBERT  HARRIS  BARKER 


won  the  all-around  athletic  contest.  An  injured  knee 
prevented  his  taking  a  prominent  part  in  school  athletics, 
but  nevertheless  he  was  a  leader  in  his  class  at  the 
Brockton  High  School  and  at  the  time  of  his  sailing  for 
France  was  President  of  its  Alumni  Association. 

He  entered  the  American  Field  Service  on  May  19, 
191 7,  and  was  assigned  to  T.  M.  U.  184  in  the  camion 
branch.  He  was  an  excellent  driver  and  a  responsible 
soldier.  In  October  he  enlisted  in  the  United  States 
Army  as  a  member  of  the  Mallet  Reserve  but  at  the  same 
time  sent  in  his  application  for  transfer  to  infantry,  writ- 
ing to  his  father,  "Someone  in  the  family  ought  to  do 
their  bit  and  that  bit  should  be  a  mighty  big  piece.  The 
logical  one  to  do  it  is  Bob."  He  took  his  step  coolly,  with 
his  eyes  wide  open  to  its  worst  possible  consequences. 
In  March  his  transfer  arrived  and  he  went  immediately 
to  the  1 6th  Infantry,  leaving  behind  a  sergeant's  war- 
rant. From  that  time  on  no  word  was  received  from  him, 
for,  according  to  a  comrade  who  has  given  us  the  ojily 
account  of  Robert's  death,  "The  regiment  was  kept  so 
busy  in  the  trenches  that  only  two  lots  of  mail  were  deliv- 
ered and  none  sent  out."  This  same  friend  tells  of  Rob- 
ert's service,  as  Captain's  Signal  Man,  of  the  zest  with 
which  he  undertook  dangerous  assignments  such  as  night 
patrols  and  scouting  near  the  German  lines,  and  of  his 
cheerfulness  and  friendliness.  He  loved  his  fellows,  par- 
ticularly the  rough,  tobacco-chewing,  big-hearted  "bud- 
dies" of  whom  he  wrote  sympathetically,  looking  past 
their  external  coarseness  into  the  goodness  of  their  hearts. 

As  he  said  in  his  last  letter,  "The  army creates 

a  brotherly  feeling  among  us  all."  It  is  fitting  that  these 
should  be  the  last  words  from  one  who  found  in  life  so 
many  brothers. 


132 


STANLEY  HILL 

If  we  were  to  summarize  in  a  word  the  qualities  of  Stan- 
ley Hill,  we  should  say  immediately,  "cheerfulness/* 
His  was  a  most  sunny,  happy,  generous  nature,  full  of 
the  joy  of  living  and  always  responsive  to  the  call  of  ad- 
venture. As  a  boy  he  was  ready  for  any  sort  of  game, 
and  as  he  grew  up  that  spirit  grew  with  him.  A  class- 
mate of  his  at  Dartmouth  tells  of  his  going  over  the  ski- 
jump  at  the  Winter  Carnival  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he 
had  never  done  any  jumping  before,  simply  because  he 
was  unwilling  to  admit  that  he  could  not  do  it.  In  the 
simplicity  with  which  he  faced  the  problems  of  existence 
he  recognized  only  success  or  failure,  and  he  acknowl- 
edged no  acquaintance  with  the  word  "cannot."  His 
outlook  on  life  was  so  straightforward,  his  sympathy  so 
ready,  his  cheerfulness  so  infectious  that  we  who  were 
privileged  in  knowing  him  will  always  remember  him 
with  a  particular  tenderness. 

On  May  5,  191 7,  he  sailed  from  New  York  with  his 
brother  in  the  American  Field  Service,  writing  to  his 
mother  just  before  the  ship  left  the  pier,  "We  are  going 
into  one  of  the  noblest  services  that  exists  and  we  do  not 

want  you  to  feel  badly whatever  may  happen 

we  want  you  to  bear  it  bravely,  as  we  know  you  will.** 
Both  he  and  his  brother  left  Paris  in  Section  28  and  were 
soon  working  in  the  midst  of  the  heavy  fighting  in  Cham- 
pagne, where,  on  June  26th,  his  friend  and  college  class- 
mate, Paul  Osborn,  was  killed  while  loading  his  car  at  an 
advanced  post.  Stanley  wrote  in  a  letter  to  his  father 
telling  of  the  tragedy,  a  sentence  that  has  a  striking  in- 
terest in  the  light  of  his  own  unselfish  death.  "If  any- 
thing happens  to  me,  I  pray  God  that  I  may  be  as  noble, 
as  courageous  and  as  thoughtful  of  others  as  Paul  was  !  ** 

"Stan"  loved  the  French;  soon  he  spoke  the  lan- 
guage easily,  delighting  particularly  in  absorbing  all 
sorts  of  slang  expressions  with  which  he  would  regale  a 
group  of  admiring  poilus.     His  smile  and  unwavering 

133 


STANLEY  HILL 


good  humor  came  to  be  known  throughout  the  division 
where  he  was  always  warmly  and  affectionately  made 
welcome.  Miss  Norma  Derr,  the  author  of  "Made- 
moiselle Miss"  describes  him  during  the  exhausting 
days  of  June,  191 8,  as  he  drove  up  to  the  hospital  at 
Epernay.  *'He  was  white  with  dust  and  haggard  after 
days  and  nights  of  steady  driving,  but  just  as  buoyant 
and  confident  as  in  the  old  days  in  Bouleuse  when  the 
section  was  *calm/" 

The  German  offensive  of  July  15,  191 8,  found  Section 
28  working  in  the  Reims  sector.  Throughout  that  long 
memorable  day  they  toiled,  until  at  last  the  posts  were 
temporarily  cleared  of  wounded.  As  several  of  the  men, 
worn  out  with  fatigue  and  hunger,  were  snatching  a  hasty 
bite  for  the  first  time  that  day,  a  call  came  in  for  three 
more  cars.  Stanley  was  the  first  out  on  the  road.  Not 
far  from  the  hospital  on  his  return  trip,  a  shell  struck 
beside  the  car  wounding  him  in  the  forehead.  He  was 
taken  to  the  hospital  at  La  Veuve  and  it  was  thought  he 
would  live.  He  regained  consciousness  and  even  wrote 
to  his  family  in  his  cheery  way,  concerned  only  for  the 
anxiety  of  his  parents.  In  one  of  these  two  letters  he 
wrote,  "All  goes  well  except  that  I  worry  as  to  how  you 
are  bearing  up  under  the  strain  of  not  knowing  just  what 
happened  to  me." 

On  August  1 2th  meningitis  suddenly  set  in,  and  Stan- 
ley dropped  into  unconsciousness,  waking  only  on  the 
morning  of  the  14th,  to  answer  a  question  as  to  how  he 
felt.  "All  right,"  he  said,  with  a  faint  smile,  undaunted 
and  cheerful  in  the  face  of  death  as  he  had  been  through- 
out his  life.  He  died  at  ten  o'clock  that  night  and  his 
friends  felt  that  a  light  had  gone  out. 


134 


STANLEY  HILL 

Born  December  i8,  1896,  in  Somerville,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Willard  C. 
and  Clara  Laycock  Hill.  Home,  Lexington,  Massachusetts.  Educated  Lex- 
ington Schools  and  Dartmouth  College,  Class  of  191 8.  Joined  American 
Field  Service,  May  5,  191 7;  attached  Section  Twenty-eight  to  October  2, 
191 7.  Enlisted  U.S.  Army  Ambulance  Service.  Wounded  by  shell,  July 
IS,  1918,  in  Reims.  Died  August  14,  1918,  at  La  Veuve  Hospital,  near 
Chaions-sur-Marne.  Croix  de  Guerre  with  palm,  and  Medaille  Militaire. 
Buried  Military  Cemetery,  La  Veuve,  Marne. 


ALEXANDER  BERN  BRUCE 


Born  May  3,  1894,  in  Seattle,  Washington.  Son  of  David  and  Carrie 
Wainwright  Bruce.  Home,  Lawrence,  Massachusetts.  Educated  Phillips 
Academy,  Andover,  and  Harvard  University,  Class  of  1915.  Teaching 
staff,  Andover.  Plattsburg,  1916.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  April  28, 
1917;  attached  Transport  Section  526  to  August  28,  1917.  Enlisted  U.  S. 
Aviation.  First  Lieutenant ;  Paris  Defense  Squadron.  Attached  94th 
Pursuit  Squadron,  July,  1918.  Killed  in  combat,  August  17,  1918,  over 
Cruaux.    Buried  American  Cemetery,  Fismes,  Marne. 


ALEXANDER  BERN  BRUCE 

One  of  Alexander  Bern  Bruce's  fellow  instructors  at 
Andover  has  described  him  as  "the  most  reticent,  silent 
man  I  have  ever  known"  ;  and  Major  Fuess  says  in  his 
book,  "Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  in  the  Great  War,'' 
"In  the  early  days  of  our  war  many  men  talked  much 
about  what  they  planned  to  do.  *Alec'  Bruce  said  very 
little  :  but  when  the  hour  struck,  he  did  more  than  talk, — 
he  went.  His  career  is  an  inspiration  to  all  true  Ameri- 
cans." Quiet,  modest,  unassuming,  he  possessed  unusual 
strength  of  character,  and  was  a  brilliant  scholar,  gradu- 
ating cum  laude  from  Andover  in  191 1  and  being  elected 
to  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  at  Harvard.  His  friends  speak  of 
his  faithfulness  and  conscientiousness  and  of  the  implicit 
trust  that  he  inspired  among  all  who  had  dealings  with 
him. 

In  the  fall  of  191 5  he  went  back  to  Andover  as  an 
instructor  and  when  American  participation  in  the  war 
seemed  imminent  he  took  a  leading  part  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Andover  Unit  of  the  American  Field  Service. 
Together  with  the  majority  of  the  unit  he  volunteered  for 
the  camion  branch  and  served  with  T.  M.  U.  526B  for 
four  months.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  term  of  enlist- 
ment he  joined  the  American  Air  Service.  There  were  no 
heroics  about  his  resolution ;  as  a  companion  said,  "In 
his  quiet,  determined  sort  of  way,  he  simply  made  up  his 
mind  and  went  ahead."  He  had  a  very  real  and  deep- 
rooted  patriotism  that  was  not  dissipated  in  flag-waving, 
but  which  on  the  contrary  took  him  into  the  midst  of 
fighting  so  quietly  and  so  surely  that  his  decision  seemed 
inevitable,  as  indeed  it  was.  His  first  assignment  after 
being  commissioned  as  a  flyer  was  to  the  patrol  that  pro- 
tected the  Paris  district  against  air-raids.  In  spite  of  the 
fact  that  Paris  was  bombed  almost  every  day  and  his 
work  in  consequence  valuable  and  dangerous,  he  felt  his 
service  inadequate  and  made  frequent  requests  for  trans- 
fer to  front-line  duty.    Finally  to  his  great  satisfaction 

135 


ALEXANDER  BERN  BRUCE 


and  relief  he  was  sent  out  to  the  famous  94th  Aero  Pur- 
suit Squadron,  which  even  at  this  early  date  had  a  large 
number  of  Hun  planes  to  its  credit.  His  death  has  been 
described  by  Major  Fuess.  "On  August  17,  1918,  while 
he  was  engaged  in  combat  over  Cruaux  with  several 
German  planes,  his  machine  brushed  wings  with  that  of 
another  pilot,  and  he  fell  nearly  two  miles.  Although  his 
body  was  not  mangled,  his  neck  was  broken  and  he  was 
evidently  killed  instantly.'* 

"Alec's'*  letters  to  his  mother,  to  whom  he  wrote  almost 
daily  with  characteristic  thoughtfulness,  were  cheerfully, 
almost  playfully,  optimistic,  showing  a  side  of  his  per- 
sonality that  did  not  often  appear  in  conversation.  They 
were  exceptionally  well-written,  but  with  his  usual  mod- 
esty he  refused  to  give  his  consent  to  their  publication 
in  spite  of  the  constant  demands  of  relatives.  The  beau- 
tiful quality  of  his  spirit  is  illustrated  by  a  friend.  "He 
wrote  letters  frequently  to  small  children  and  they  were 
not  the  least  of  the  fine  things  he  did  well."  To  be  like 
"Alec"  Bruce  was  the  goal  of  many  a  youngster.  What 
his  comrades  thought  of  him  is  shown  by  one  who 
wrote,  "Everybody  who  knew  him  recognized  him  as  one 
of  the  cleanest,  most  straightforward  chaps  in  the 
crowd."  Another  friend  who  had  known  him  well  at 
home  said,  "In  the  years  he  had  lived,  few  as  they  were, 
he  made  a  record  of  brilliant  achievements  in  the  class- 
room and  on  the  battlefield.  Surely  he  has  not  lived 
in  vain." 


136 


HENRY  HOWARD  HOUSTON,  2D 

One  of  the  truest  things  which  can  be  said  of  Henry 
Houston  is  that  no  matter  where  his  duty  lay  he  gave 
himself  always  with  whole  heartedness,  self-effacement 
and  loyalty.  A  member  of  Section  Twelve  from  its  be- 
ginning, he  rendered  faithful  and  courageous  service  on 
the  Verdun  front  during  the  winter  and  spring  of  191 7, 
for  which  he  was  decorated  with  the  Croix  de  Guerre  by 
the  132nd  Division  of  French  Infantry  on  April  5th  of 
that  year.  Early  in  May  he  was  selected  as  one  of  the 
first  group  of  fifteen  men,  mostly  heads  of  sections,  to  be 
sent  to  the  French  Officers'  Training  School  at  Meaux. 
Upon  completion  of  this  course,  at  a  time  when  too  many 
volunteers  were  considering  where  they  preferred  to 
serve  rather  than  where  their  services  were  needed,  he 
placed  himself  unconditionally  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Field  Service  Headquarters  to  be  assigned  as  they  saw 
fit,  and  as  head  of  a  camion  section,  T.  M.  U.  133,  he 
proved  himself  a  wise  and  devoted  officer. 

In  August,  1 91 7,  he  resigned  his  command  under  the 
Field  Service  and  returned  to  America  to  accept  a  com- 
mission as  aide  on  the  staff  of  General  William  G.  Price, 
Jr.,  commanding  the  53rd  Artillery  Brigade.  It  was 
with  this  brigade  that  he  had  served  on  the  Mexican 
border,  immediately  after  graduating  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  during  the  summer  and  fall  of 
191 6,  in  the  First  Pennsylvania  Field  Artillery  (107  th 
U.  S.  F.  A.),  and  of  which  he  had  written  while  in  the 
camion  service:  "I  still  have  hankerings  toward  the  ar- 
tillery,—  first  loves  are  strongest,  you  know." 

He  took  up  the  new  task  with  a  determination  to  use 
to  the  utmost  his  rare  advantage  of  previous  militairy 
service  with  the  brigade  and  six  months*  experience  with 
the  armies  at  the  front.  How  well  he  succeeded  is  evi- 
denced by  the  following  quotation  from  a  letter  written 
by  General  Price  :  "  Rejoining  his  old  brigade,  he  brought 
with  him  a  deep  knowledge  of  conditions  of  service  in 

137 


HENRY  HOWARD  HOUSTON,  2d 


France,  which  was  of  inestimable  value  to  the  brigade 
in  its  preparations  for  service  there.  To  me  personally 
he  was  of  great  comfort  and  assistance ;  his  services 
during  the  training  period,  lecturing  on  subjects  which 
came  under  his  observation  prior  to  the  United  States' 
entry  into  war,  and  during  his  aerial  training  at  Fort  Sill, 
Oklahoma,  from  which  he  graduated  as  a  flying  observer, 
were  of  great  value." 

During  the  long,  anxious  months  of  training,  both  in 
America  and  France,  the  example  of  his  never  failing 
cheerfulness  and  devotion  to  duty  helped  many  a  fellow 
officer  or  enlisted  man  over  the  pitfalls  and  discourage- 
ments inevitable  in  the  building  up  of  a  successful  fight- 
ing unit,  and  thus  affected  in  no  small  degree  the  morale 
of  the  entire  brigade.  The  fact  that  his  name  was 
chosen  for  the  American  Legion  Post  at  Germantown, 
Pennsylvania,  the  second  largest  post  in  the  state,  is  a 
proof  of  the  esteem  in  which  his  comrades  held  him.  He 
was  killed  on  August  i8th,  191 8,  near  Arcis  le  Ponsart, 
having  volunteered  to  go  to  a  position  near  the  lines  to 
give  instructions  regarding  the  proper  liaison  between  the 
air  forces  and  batteries. 

Of  his  death  General  Price  writes :  "  As  his  command- 
ing officer  I  can  not  find  words  to  express  the  sense  of  loss 
we  all  felt,  the  realization  by  all  of  his  sterling  worth, 
his  value  as  an  officer  and  his  promised  value  as  a  citizen. 
Thoughtful,  unselfish,  kind  and  brave,  he  died  as  I  be- 
lieve he  would,  could  he  have  chosen,  facing  the  enemy 
in  battle,  fearless  and  with  a  sublime  confidence  in  the 
future  life  which  his  associates  well  knew  he  had. 

"Thus  he  died,  a  Christian  gentleman,  a  soldier  who 
loved  humanity,  his  country,  and  his  God." 


138 


HENRY  HOWARD  HOUSTON,  2D 

Born  April  5,  1895,  in  Chestnut  Hill,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  Samuel  F.  and 
Edith  Codies  Houston.  Educated  Chestnut  Hill  Academy  and  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  Class  of  1916.  Battery  "C,"  State  Guard,  Mexican  Bor- 
der, 1916.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  January  8,  191 7  •  attached  Sec- 
tion Twelve.  French  Officers'  Automobile  School,  Meaux.  Chef  Adjoint, 
Transport  Section  133  to  July  30,  191 7.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Returned  to 
America.  Commissioned  Second  Lieutenant,  Aide,  Commanding  General's 
Staff,  53d  Artillery  Brigade.  Trained  Fort  Sill,  Oklahoma,  as  flying  ob- 
server. First  Lieutenant,  U.  S.  Field  Artillery,  28th  Division.  Killed  by 
shell,  August  18,  1918,  near  Arcis-le-Ponsart,  Marjie.  Buried  Suresnes, 
Seine. 


HARRY  WORTHINGTON  CRAIG 

Born  April  19,  1897,  in  Chicago,  Illinois.  Son  of  Norman  and  Katherine 
Austin  Craig.  Home,  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Educated  St.  John's  Military 
Academy,  Delafield,  Wisconsin ;  Cleveland  East  High  School ;  and  Univer- 
sity of  Wisconsin,  Class  of  1919.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  January 
8,  1917;  attached  Section  Twelve  until  July  9,  1917.  Croix  de  Guerre. 
Returned  to  America ;  enlisted  in  U.  S.  Aviation.  Trained  in  France  and 
Italy.  Commissioned  First  Lieutenant;  attached  French  Escadrille  129. 
Killed  in  combat,  August  20,  1918.  Croix  de  Guerre  with  palm.  Buried 
French  Cemetery,  Pierrefonds,  Oise.  Body  transferred  to  American  Ceme- 
tery, Romagne-Sous-Montfaucon,  Muese. 


HARRY  WORTHINGTON  CRAIG 

"Oh,  it  isn't  in  words  that  they  show  it  — 
Words  are  too  feeble  to  tell  what  they  feel ; 
It  *s  down  in  their  hearts  that  they  know  it, 

It 's  down  in  their  souls  that  it 's  real. 
So  they  stick  to  their  work  as  they  find  it, 

And  forget  the  caprices  of  Chance, 
For  they  know  that  the  price  of  the  big  sacrifice, 
Is  little  enough  —  for  France ! " 

R.  A.  D. 

When  the  appeal  came  for  volunteer  ambulanciers  in 
France,  Harry  Worthington  Craig,  then  a  sophomore  in 
the  State  University  of  Wisconsin,  was  among  the  first 
to  offer  his  services.  He  sailed  with  his  group  early  in 
January,  191 7,  and  for  the  next  six  months  he  lost  —  and 
more  truly  found  —  himself,  in  the  grim  realities  he 
encountered  in  that  tattered,  grimy,  bleeding  fringe  of 
the  war  —  the  zone  of  the  ambulanciers.  All  of  his  fresh 
vigour,  and  sense  of  outraged  justice  he  poured  into  that 
work  with  S.  S.  U.  12,  in  the  sector  near  Esnes  and  the 
Bois  d'Avocourt,  and  later,  in  the  Chalons  sector. 

His  complete  indifference  to  personal  danger  he  demon- 
strated time  and  again,  and  France  acknowledged  her 
appreciation  of  this  unselfish  and  splendidly  fearless  ser- 
vice by  decorating  him  early  for  bravery  under  fire. 

Before  his  six  months'  enlistment  had  expired,  America 
had  entered  the  war,  and  upon  completing  his  term  as  an 
ambulancier  Craig  returned  to  this  country,  only  to  go 
back  to  France,  immediately,  under  our  flag.  He  en- 
listed in  aviation,  completing  his  training,  and  receiving 
his  commission  as  First  Lieutenant  only  two  months  be- 
fore his  death. 

Here,  as  in  the  ambulance  service,  he  distinguished 
himself  by  his  courage  and  loyalty,  and  was  again 
honored  by  the  French  Army  in  being  awarded  the  Croix 
de  Guerre  with  palm.  Even  in  this  world  strife,  where 
the  individual  must,  of  necessity,  be  blotted  out  in  the 
great  scheme  of  things,  his  record  stands  high  among 
those  of  individual  achievement  —  primarily  because  of 

139 


HARRY  WORTHINGTON  CRAIG 


the  thoroughness  and  forgetfulness  of  self  with  which  he 
shouldered  his  particular  responsibilities. 

Lieutenant  Craig  never  allowed  the  bitterness  of  war 
and  its  appalling  grimness  to  overcast  the  natural  (buoy- 
ancy of  his  nature.  Perhaps  one  of  his  greatest  con- 
tributions to  the  winning  forces  was  this  undaunted 
optimism  and  cheeriness  of  his.  His  pilot  writes  that  he 
was  loved  by  every  member  of  his  Esquadrille  because 
he  was  always  happy  and  smiling,  kind  and  considerate 
to  everyone.  And  a  sunny  spirit  was  more  precious  than 
bullets  in  those  days. 

Lieutenant  Craig  was  born  April  19,  1897,  and  was 
killed  in  an  encounter  with  a  German  plane,  August  20, 
191 8.  He  was  buried  with  all  military  honor  among  his 
brave  companions,  the  French  officers,  in  a  small  cem- 
etery in  Pierrefonds.  He  attended  St.  John's  Military 
Academy  at  Delafield,  Wisconsin,  graduated  from  East 
High  School  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  was  embarked  on 
his  college  career  at  Madison,  Wisconsin,  when  he  re- 
sponded to  the  call  of  France. 

In  the  History  of  the  American  Field  Service  is  this 
tribute  to  the  men  of  S.  S.  U.  12,  who  made  the  final  sac- 
rifice —  a  tribute  by  a  fellow  ambulancier,  which  is  par- 
ticularly applicable  to  Harry  Craig  : 

"We  render  these  men  all  due  honor,  and  salute  them 
as  comrades  who  never  faltered  in  their  duty,  and  who 
were  over-eager  to  accept  service  of  any  kind.  They 
went  to  their  deaths  as  men  should,  serving  their  country 
to  the  last  moment." 


140 


CHARLES  HENRY  FISKE,  30 

Charles  Henry  Fiske,  3D,  left  Harvard  at  the  end  of  his 
Freshman  year  to  join  the  Field  Service.  He  was  im- 
mediately sent  out  to  Section  Three,  then  stationed  near 
Pont-a-Mousson,  on  the  Lorraine  front.  A  month  or  so 
later,  when  this  Section  was  offered  the  chance  to  go  with 
the  French  troops  to  the  Balkans,  "Charley"  volun- 
teered to  go  with  it,  and  for  the  next  eight  months  he 
drove  his  ambulance  along  the  front  in  Albania  and 
northern  Greece. 

"Fiske  was  one  of  the  youngest  members  of  the  Sec- 
tion," wrote  an  older  man  who  was  thrown  much  with 
him  at  the  time,  "but  he  made  many  friends  among  his 
fellow  drivers.  He  was  modest  and  unassuming  and  always 
showed  the  keenest  and  most  dependable  sense  of  duty." 

When  he  returned  to  France  from  the  Balkans  in  June, 
the  United  States  had  joined  the  Allies,  and  Fiske  sought 
a  chance  to  enter  his  country's  army.  At  that  time, 
however,  enlistment  was  impossible  in  France,  so  for 
several  months  Fiske  served  as  a  volunteer  driver  for 
Major  Frederick  Palmer  then  in  charge  of  the  war  cor- 
respondents attached  to  the  American  army.  "Fiske 
had  the  gift,"  wrote  Major  Palmer,  "of  making  a  good 
first  impression  and  improving  it  upon  acquaintance. 
He  was  as  dear  to  me  as  if  he  were  my  own  son." 

In  September,  191 7,  he  returned  to  America  and,  find- 
ing himself  too  young  to  be  accepted  at  any  officers* 
training  camp,  re-entered  Harvard  where  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Harvard  Regiment.  But  his  eager  heart 
was  overseas  and,  as  soon  as  he  became  of  age,  he  en- 
listed at  Camp  Upton,  graduating  early  in  April  as  an 
officer  candidate. 

From  Camp  Upton,  Fiske  was  ordered  to  France  with 
the  77th  Division.  He  served  with  this  division  as  a 
sergeant  until  July  when  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Second  Lieutenant  and  assigned  to  the  iiith  Infantry 
of  the  28th  Division. 

141 


CHARLES  HENRY  FISKE,  3d 


Six  days  after  joining  the  28th  Division,  while  on  duty 
near  the  village  of  Fismettes,  he  was  struck  in  the  shoul- 
der by  the  fragment  of  a  shell.  After  an  emergency 
operation  had  been  performed  in  a  field  hospital  he  was 
sent  back  by  a  canal  boat  to  Paris  where  he  died,  August 
24th,  in  Red  Cross  Hospital  No.  3,  while  undergoing  a 
second  operation.  The  funeral  was  held  in  the  hospital 
on  August  27th  and  his  body  was  interred  in  the  Ameri- 
can Military  Cemetery  at  Suresnes. 

A  friend,  who  knew  and  loved  Fiske  and  who  returned 
to  America  with  him  in  191 7,  wrote  at  the  time  of  his 
death  :  "  I  think  his  first  quality  was  his  modesty.  He 
never  realized  that  everyone  on  shipboard  watched  him 
with  admiration.  Everyone  I  talked  to  asked  me  who 
that  glorious  boy  was  and  what  he  had  been  doing.  He, 
on  the  other  hand,  said  to  me  more  than  once,  *  It  is  foolish 
to  think  that  anything  you  do  or  are  is  your  own  self.  It 
is  all  the  result  of  what  some  one  else  has  done  for  you.' " 

Harvard  University  awarded  him  posthumously  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Two  scholarships  in  his 
honor  have  also  been  established  by  his  parents.  One  is 
to  be  given  to  a  French  student  desirous  of  studying  at 
Harvard  and  the  other  will  be  tenable  at  Trinity  College, 
Cambridge,  by  an  American  nominated  by  the  President 
and  Fellows  of  Harvard  University. 


142 


CHARLES  HENRY  FISKE,  3D 

Born  December  3,  1896,  in  Boston,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Charles  Henry 
Fiske,  Jr.,  and  Mary  Thorndike  Fiske.  Educated  Noble  and  Greenough 
and  Country  Day  School.  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  England,  and  Har- 
vard University,  Class  of  1919.  Plattsburg  Camp,  1916.  Joined  American 
Field  Service,  August  13,  1916 ;  attached  Section  Three  in  France  and  Bal- 
kans to  June  30,  191 7.  Volunteer  chauffeur  with  Major  Palmer  to  Sep- 
tember, 191 7.  Returned  to  America,  enlisted  U.  S.  Infantry,  Camp  Upton, 
January,  1918,  77th  Division.  Sailed  April,  as  Sergeant.  Commissioned 
Second  Lieutenant;  attached  iiith  Infantry,  28th  Division,  July,  1918. 
Died  at  Red  Cross  Hospital  No.  3,  Paris,  August  24,  1918,  of  wounds  re- 
ceived in  action  near  Fismes,  Marne,  August  1 2th.  Buried  American  Ceme- 
tery, Suresnes,  Seine. 


GREAYER  CLOVER 

Born  April  14,  1897,  in  Chicago,  Illinois.  Son  of  Samuel  T.  and  Mabel  Hitt 
Clover.  Home,  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  Los  Angeles,  California.  Educated 
Los  Angeles  and  Pasadena  schools,  California ;  one  year  Leland  Stanford 
University ;  Yale  University,  Class  of  19 19.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
May  19,  1917  ;  attached  Transport  Section  133  to  November  19,  1917.  En- 
listed U.  S.  Aviation.  Second  Lieutenant.  Killed  in  aeroplane  accident 
August  30,  1918,  training  at  Issoudun.   Buried  Issoudun,  Indre. 


GREAYER  CLOVER 

Of  all  the  qualities  of  character  that  distinguished 
Greayer  Clover,  perhaps  the  one  that  most  fills  the 
memory  of  his  friends  is  his  greatness  of  heart.  He  was 
as  utterly  incapable  of  thinking  a  mean  or  selfish  thought 
as  he  was  of  "funking"  in  time  of  danger, —  and  courage, 
both  moral  and  physical,  was  at  the  very  foundation  of 
his  nature.  His  letters  and  his  more  formal  sketches 
breathe  loyalty  —  loyalty  to  his  ideals,  his  country  and 
his  friends.  From  his  camion  section  he  wrote,  "There 
are  forty  of  us  in  the  section  and  each  one  has  thirty-nine 
friends,"  and  we  know  that  he  would  have  given  his  life 
for  any  of  them  because  such  was  his  plain  understanding 
of  friendship.  "He  had  the  kindest,  tenderest  and  most 
generous  heart  that  ever  beat!"  is  the  heart-broken  cry 
of  one  of  his  closest  friends.  He  loved  children  and 
they  were  quick  to  find  in  him  a  spirit  as  pure  and  fresh 
as  their  own.  Of  his  generosity  —  thoughtful,  sacri- 
ficial generosity  that  took  him  often  far  out  of  his  way 
to  serve  others  —  we  have  countless  evidences.  He 
"gave  his  own  blankets  and  all  of  his  sweaters  and  muf- 
flers" to  a  family  of  Belgian  refugees  whom  he  discovered 
almost  destitute  in  the  winter  of  191 7-1 8,  and  he  diverted 
every  cent  of  his  pay  that  he  could  spare,  to  their  support. 
"  Many  of  us  think  of  deeds  such  as  that,"  a  friend  wrote, 
"but 'Grub 'was one  of  the  few  who  continually  </i(/ them." 
Greayer  entered  Yale  in  the  fall  of  191 6  after  a  year  at 
Leland  Stanford  Jr.  University.  As  a  schoolboy  he  had 
won  the  California  interscholastic  tennis  cup  and  his 
athletic  achievements  continued  at  college.  On  April  17, 
191 7,  he  wrote  to  his  father  arguing  for  permission  to  join 
the  American  Field  Service,  closing  with  the  cry,  "And 
Oh!  I  want  to  make  it  France!"  On  May  19th,  he 
sailed  and  in  his  father's  words,  "  Never  went  a  Crusader 
to  the  Holy  Land  with  more  zeal  to  serve."  He  served 
in  the  Camion  Branch  of  the  American  Field  Service 
until  its  absorption  by  the  United  States  Army  and  then 

143 


GREATER  CLOVER 


enlisted  in  aviation.  On  August  30,  191 8,  while  flying 
across  country  over  Romorantin,  his  plane  skidded  and 
crashed  to  the  ground,  killing  him  instantly. 

"If  so  good  a  flyer  as  Greayer  had  to  fall/'  Lieuten- 
ant J.  R.  Crowe,  his  **bunkie,"  killed  two  weeks  later  in 
the  same  way,  wrote,  "  I  know  that  it  is  all  chance  any- 
way." 

His  writings,  which  include  a  published  volume  of 
anecdotes  under  the  title  **  A  Stop  At  Suzanne's,"  betray 
a  great  deal  of  real  literary  ability,  but  more  particularly 
they  reveal  the  charm  of  his  personality  and  the  sincerity 
and  fearlessness  of  his  character.  They  indicate  wide 
and  intelligent  reading,  an  intense  love  of  music  and  a 
deep-seated  admiration  for  France  and  the  civilization 
that  she  represents,  together  with  a  quick  and  sympa- 
thetic appreciation  of  the  humorous  and  the  pathetic. 

In  the  charming  little  sketch  that  gives  the  title  to  the 
book,  Greayer  tells  of  making  his  stop  at  "Suzanne's," 
—  that  romantic  inn  where  new-fledged  aviators  were 
welcomed  in  the  brotherhood  of  the  air.  There  he 
signed  his  name  in  the  big  book,  below  the  names  of 
Guynemer  and  Fonck  and  Bishop,  with  a  boyish  exalted 
thrill  at  the  thought  that  those  to  come  after  might  one 
day  pause  over  his  signature  and  remember  him.  That 
day  has  come  and  we  cease  turning  the  pages  to  bow 
silently  over  his  name, —  not  because  of  the  greatness  of 
his  achievements,  but  because  of  the  beauty  of  his  life. 
He  did  not  have  the  good  fortune  to  win  his  spurs  in 
battle,  but  he  leaves  a  record  as  imperishable  as  time 
itself, —  that  we  may  not  forget. 


144 


WILLIAM  ARMSTRONG  ELLIOTT 

Not  content  with  being  merely  useful  as  a  civilian  en- 
gineer in  one  of  the  largest  flying  fields  in  France,  Wil- 
liam Armstrong  Elliott  of  T.  M.  U.  133  felt  the  urge  for 
combat  work  so  keenly  that  he  submitted  to  an  operation 
to  make  him  physically  fit  for  actual  flying.  Im- 
mediately following  the  operation,  typhoid  fever  set  in 
and  Elliott  died  in  the  Naval  Hospital  at  Beaucaillon, 
France,  September  4,  191 8. 

In  appreciation  of  his  fine  sense  of  duty,  the  navy 
buried  Elliott  with  full  honors.  "His  funeral  was  at- 
tended by  the  officers  and  men  of  my  command,'*  wrote 
Commander  F.  T.  Evans  to  Elliott's  mother,  "For  al- 
though not  a  member  of  the  military  forces  of  the  United 
States  your  son  had  indeed  become  a  comrade  in  arms 
and  has  given  his  life  in  the  service  of  the  country  he 
loved/' 

Elliott  was  bofn  January  22,  1896,  in  Moab,  Utah. 
He  moved  with  his  parents  to  Oxnard  in  California,  in 
1899.  There  he  lived  until  191 2,  when  he  entered  the 
University  of  California.  In  the  spring  of  191 7  he  joined 
one  of  the  university  ambulance  units  leaving  for  volun- 
teer service  in  France. 

At  the  end  of  his  enlistment  with  the  American  Field 
Service  in  November,  191 7,  Elliott  became  inspector  in 
the  construction  department  of  the  air  service  at  Paris, 
and  shortly  after  was  sent  to  Romorantin  to  assist  in  the 
building  of  an  industrial  center  for  the  aviation  branch 
of  the  army.  In  June,  1918,  with  the  pressure  of  the 
German  offensive  steadily  growing,  he  obtained  per- 
mission from  his  commanding  officer  to  go  to  the  French 
Artillery  School  where  he  was  anxious  to  get  the  training 
which  would  send  him  again  to  the  front.  Major  Bates, 
in  recommending  him  to  the  school  wrote :  "He  desires 
to  obtain  permission  to  enter  your  school  to  receive  train- 
ing for  the  artillery  branch  of  your  service  with  the  hope 
that  he  can  obtain  a  commission  in  the  French  Army. 

145 


WILLIAM  ARMSTRONG  ELLIOTT 


You  will  find  this  man  an  exemplary,  clean  cut,  honor- 
able gentleman,  in  whom  you  can  place  every  confidence." 

While  at  Fontainebleau  he  received  a  call  from  the 
naval  aviation  service.  At  Pauillac,  where  he  was  as- 
signed, Elliott  soon  found  himself  again  in  construction 
work  in  the  rear.  His  urge  to  get  into  more  active  ser- 
vice steadily  growing,  Elliott  consulted  the  medical  au- 
thorities there.  He  learned  that  an  operation  was  nec- 
essary before  any  army  or  navy  would  accept  him,  par- 
ticularly for  artillery.  He  made  arrangements  at  once 
to  enter  the  hospital,  from  which  he  never  returned. 

On  learning  of  his  death  Major  Bates  wrote  to  El- 
liott's mother,  "Our  association  together  was  one  of  the 
l^rightest  periods  of  my  long  service,  and  I  want  to  say  to 
you  in  all  candor,  your  son  was  one  of  the  most  honorable 
of  men,  and  it  was  a  real  pleasure  to  be  associated  with 
him  in  our  work,  which  was  the  most  important  in  the 
air  service  in  all  France.  Please  accept  my  sincerest 
sympathy  in  your  great  bereavement.  I  mourn  with 
you  in  your  loss  of  your  dear  son  and  my  friend  and  com- 
rade." 


146 


WILLIAM  ARMSTRONG  ELLIOTT 

Born  January  2  2,  1896,  in  Moab,  Utah.  Son  of  Judge  C.J.  and  Mildred 
J.  Elliott.  Home,  Oxnard,  California.  Educated  Oxnard  schools  and  Uni- 
versity of  California,  Class  of  1918.  Alternate  years  at  college  and  working 
with  state  and  county  highway  commissions  as  engineer.  Joined  American 
Field  Service,  May  19,  191 7  ;  attached  Transport  Section  133  to  November 
17,  191 7.  Civilian  engineer  and  inspector.  Construction  Department, 
U.  S.  Air  Service,  Romorantin.  Recommended  French  Artillery  School  but 
remained  at  Pauillac  with  U.  S.  Naval  Aviation.  Died  September  4,  19 18, 
of  typhoid  fever,  U.  S.  Naval  Hospital  Beaucaillon.  Buried  Naval  Cem- 
etery Pauillac,  Gironde. 


WALTER  LAIDLAW  SAMBROOK 

Born  December  lo,  1893,  ^^  Watervliet,  New  York.  Son  of  George  T.  and 
Emma  Disney  Sambrook.  Educated  Watervliet  schools  and  Syracuse  Uni- 
versity, two  and  one-half  years,  Class  of  19 17.  Florist  business,  Troy,  New 
York.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  August  12,  1917;  attached  Trans- 
port Section  397  to  November  12,  1917.  Enlisted  U.S.  Quartermaster 
Corps;  attached  302d  Motor  Transport  Company.  Staff-car  driver  for 
General  Wood.  Died  September  5,  1918,  in  Paris,  of  pneumonia.  Buried 
Suresnes,  Seine. 


WALTER  LAIDLAW  SAMBROOK 

Among  Walter  Laidlaw  Sambrook's  cherished  posses- 
sions was  the  following  letter  signed  by  Major  General 
Leonard  Wood : 

"  Private  Walter  Sambrook  has  been  on  duty  as  chauf- 
feur of  my  car  during  my  tour  of  observation  with  the 
British,  French,  and  American  forces.  I  found  him  al- 
ways thoroughly  reliable  and  extremely  intelligent  and 
efficient.  We  have  had  no  trouble  with  the  car  and  his 
services  have  been  in  every  way  most  satisfactory." 

This  voluntary  appreciation  from  a  busy  and  dis- 
tinguished officer  is  indeed  something  of  which  any 
soldier  might  be  justly  proud.  It  shows  the  earnestness 
and  effort  Sambrook  put  into  the  execution  of  the  ordi- 
nary tasks.  It  was  on  this  tour  that  General  Wood  was 
wounded.  A  shell  exploded  killing  several  Frenchmen 
and  wounding  two  officers.  -  Miraculously,  almost,  Walter 
escaped  and  turned  his  car  into  an  ambulance  to  rush 
the  wounded  to  a  hospital.  His  action  at  the  time  was 
in  part  responsible  for  the  tribute  given  above.  It  is 
spirit  that  counts  in  determining  character,  rather  than 
the  kind  of  service  to  which  it  is  applied  ;  and  it  is  often 
harder  to  do  the  easy  job  well  than  the  hard  one.  But 
Walter  did  all  things  alike  with  the  same  high  resolve 
and  his  material  reward  was  on  its  way  at  the  time  of  his 
death  in  the  shape  of  a  promised  commission. 

Walter  was  educated  at  the  public  schools  of  Water- 
vliet  and  later  at  Syracuse  University  where  he  studied  in 
the  foresty  department.  He  became  a  member  of  the 
Sigma  Alpha  Epsilon  fraternity,  and  made  many  and 
loyal  friends  during  his  four  years  there.  After  gradua- 
tion he  went  into  business  with  his  father  in  Troy  until 
the  call  to  war  came  to  him,  and  in  August,  191 7,  he 
sailed  for  France  in  the  American  Field  Service.  On 
August  24,  he  wrote  that  he  had  been  sent  to  the  camion 
camp  at  the  front  and  rejoiced  at  being  finally  in  the 
midst  of  the  action  and  excitement.     His  period  of  ser- 

147 


WALTER  LAIDLAW  SAMBROOK 


vice  as  an  ammunition  truck  driver  was  full  of  intense 
interest  for  him,  and  he  gave  himself  to  it  with  character- 
istic enthusiasm.  When  the  American  Field  Service  was 
taken  over  by  the  United  States,  he,  like  so  many  others, 
turned  his  face  from  the  alluring  prospect  of  a  return 
home  in  the  guise  of  a  war-worn  veteran  to  whom  ave- 
nues of  advancement  would  be  open,  and  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  the  American  Army.  He  was  transferred  to 
the  Q.  M.  Corps,  and,  after  some  months  of  truck-driving 
similar  to  his  previous  work,  it  was  his  faithful  and  con- 
scientious service  in  that  capacity  which  caused  him  to 
be  selected  as  General  Wood's  driver. 

While  on  duty  in  Paris  he  was  suddenly  taken  sick  with 
pneumonia  and  after  a  very  short  illness  and  in  spite  of 
tender  and  careful  attention,  he  died  on  September  5, 
1 91 8,  just  as  the  bell  of  the  old  church  near  the  hospital 
struck  the  last  note  of  midnight.  He  was  buried  the  fol- 
lowing day  in  the  beautiful  cemetery  of  Suresnes.  Gen- 
eral Wood  wrote  to  his  family  expressing  his  personal 
sorrow  at  the  loss  of  so  capable  and  trustworthy  a  soldier 
and  informing  them  that  had  he  lived  he  would  have  been 
promoted  to  a  lieutenancy  within  a  short  time.  His 
commanding  officer,  Lieutenant  John  B.  Atkinson,  wrote 
of  him  feelingly  that  "his  work  was  model  and  his  life 

truly  exemplary In  his  death  we,  his  comrades, 

lose  a  good  soldier,  a  conscientious  worker,  and  a  lad  who 
was  every  inch  a  man." 


148 


WARREN  THOMPSON  KENT 

In  the  aftermath  of  sordid  materialism,  which  so  fate- 
fully  followed  the  war,  it  is  potent  tonic  to  our  depleted 
souls  to  recall  a  patriotic  fervor  and  consecration  to  duty, 
such  as  Lieutenant  Warren  Kent's.  It  stabs  our  con- 
sciences awake  and  makes  us  grateful  that  we  have  such 
rare  reminders,  "lest  we  break  faith  with  those  who  lie 
in  Flanders  Field." 

The  high  strain  of  this  patriotism  is  best  expressed  in 
the  following  letter  written  to  his  mother  a  few  weeks 
before  he  was  killed.  It  is  characteristic  of  all  his  thought : 

"The  day  of  reckoning  is  coming,  and  the  wind  sowed 
must  fructify  into  the  harvest  of  the  whirlwind :  God 
grant  I  may  have  some  share  in  this  retribution.  My 
name  is  on  the  list  to  replace  someone  who  is  in  a  squad- 
ron now  at  the  front.  It  should  not  be  long  before  I  fi- 
nally reach  there.  I  hope  nothing  may  arise  to  cause  any 
change,  but  I  will  nevermore  think  I  am  there  until  I  am 
actually  over  the  lines  with  machine  gun  loaded  for  the 
defense  of  everything  worth  living  for.  If  it  is  worth  liv- 
ing for,  so  is  it  also  worth  dying  for,  if  necessary.  As  I 
wrote  before.  Mother  dear,  pray  not  that  I  be  spared,  for 
while  I  wish  to  live  and  return  to  you,  it  is  selfish  to  wish 
preference  fo.r  what  is  dear  to  us,  when  so  many  can  not 
return.  Pray  only  that  I  may  do  my  duty,  and  well,  and 
that  I  may  do  enough  before  lost,  if  so  required,  that  my 
living  may  at  least  be  an  advantage.  If  this  can  be  I  will 
die  with  complete  satisfaction.  Be  perfectly  willing  to 
lose  me.  The  price  is  so  cheap  for  the  good  to  be  at- 
tained." 

Lieutenant  Kent  came  naturally  by  this  high  sense  of 
duty  as  his  ancestors  shared  that  sturdy  patriotism  which 
laid  the  foundation  of  our  republic.  Coupled  with  an  in- 
tense devoutness,  this  urge  to  defend  to  the  very  last 
breath  those  principles  he  cherished  was  not  to  be  re- 
sisted. Before  our  country  entered  the  war,  Lieutenant 
Kent  was  convinced  it  was  our  duty  to  champion  the 

149 


WARREN  THOMPSON  KENT 


righteous  cause  of  the  Allies  by  active  assistance  in  their 
struggle,  and  he  and  his  cousin,  Kent  Keay,  appealed  to 
Colonel  Roosevelt  to  be  allowed  to  join  the  expedition 
he  was  planning  at  that  time  for  service  in  France. 

He  sailed  overseas  with  a  unit  from  his  university, 
Cornell,  on  April  14,  191 7.  Immediately  after  his  ar- 
rival he  was  asked  to  drive  a  munitions  truck.  He  ac- 
cepted willingly,  welcoming  the  most  active  service  pos- 
sible. He  became  an  ardent  admirer  of  the  French  people 
and  was  keenly  touched  by  their  suffering.  He  writes  of 
it  to  his  mother.  "To  walk  down  the  streets  and  see  the 
splendid  women  in  mourning  —  you  can  hardly  pass  one 
who  is  not, —  when  you  see  the  youths  and  men  bearing 
scars  of  the  conflict,  you  cannot  help  but  feel  that  we 
have  been  dilatory.  It  would  rend  your  heart  to  see  the 
number  of  women  in  mourning.  They  are  mourning  for 
men  who  have  served  you  as  well  as  the  one  who  mourns." 

Subsequently,  having  passed  through  a  French  school 
to  qualify  as  an  officer  in  the  automobile  service,  he  de- 
clined a  commission  offered  him  in  the  Quartermaster's 
Department  and  enlisted  in  aviation  instead,  completing 
the  course  and  receiving  his  commission  early  in  191 8. 

Though  an  exceptionally  fine  flyer,  on  September  7, 
191 8,  he  was  taken  in  a  disadvantageous  position  and 
shot  down  by  one  of  von  Richtoffen's  circus  while  flying 
near  Thiaucourt  with  the  Forty-ninth  Squadron  of  the 
Second  Pursuit  Group. 

Death  held  no  terrors  for  him  and  he  fully  justified  his 
own  words,  "If  you  have  to  run  the  chance  of  death  at 
all,  you  had  better  run  the  full  length  and  sell  your  life 
most  dearly." 


150 


WARREN  THOMPSON  KENT 

Born  May  19,  1894,  in  Clifton  Heights,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  Henry  T.  and 
Louise  Leonard  Kent.  Educated  William  Penn  Charter  School,  Philadel- 
phia, and  Cornell  University,  Class  of  1914.  Joined  American  Field  Ser- 
vice, April  14,  191 7 ;  attached  Transport  Sections  526  and  251  to  October 
14,  191 7.  French  Automobile  Officers'  Training  School.  Commandant  Ad- 
joint. Declined  commission  Motor  Transport  Corps ;  enlisted  U.  S.  Avia- 
tion. Trained  2d  Aviation  Instruction  Centre,  France.  Commissioned  First 
Lieutenant,  February,  1918;  attached  49th  Squadron,  2d  Pursuit  Group. 
Shot  down  and  killed,  September  7,  1918,  near  Thiaucourt.  Buried  Pannes, 
Meurthe-et-Moselle,  by  Germans.  Body  transferred  to  American  Ceme- 
tery, Thiaucourt,  Meurthe-et-Moselle. 


HORACE  BAKER  FORMAN,  30 

Born  March  4,  1894,  in  Baltimore,  Maryland.  Son  of  Horace  B.  Forman, 
Jr.,  and  Lucy  Chandler  Forman.  Home,  Haverford,  Pennsylvania.  Edu- 
cated Haverford  School  and  College,  and  Cornell  University,  Class  of  191 7. 
Joined  American  Field  Service,  April  14,  191 7;  attached  Transport  Sec- 
tion 526  to  October  15,  1917.  Enlisted  U.S.  Aviation  Service,  October 
19th,  three  months  in  aviation  camps.  February,  1918,  training  Foggia, 
Italy.  Second  Lieutenant,  May  18,  1918.  Returned  to  France  for  chasse 
training.  Killed  in  accident,  September  14,  1918,  at  Issoudun.  Buried  Amer- 
ican Military  Cemetery  near  Issoudun,  Indre. 


HORACE  BAKER  FORMAN,  3D 

"L  KE  SO  many  of  the  heroic  youth  of  America,  he  saw 
the  right  long  before  his  country  came  to  see  it,  and  went 
forth  to  make  the  good  fight,  not  counting  the  cost  — 
and  of  that  you  can  forever  be  proud." 

There  is  something  quietly  suggestive  of  the  modern 
crusader  in  this  tribute  paid  to  Horace  Baker  Forman, 
3d,  who  died  "on  the  Field  of  Honor,  for  France."  A 
very  modern,  American  crusader,  who  shrank  from  any 
manifestations  of  glory,  and  asked  only  the  satisfaction 
of  wearing  the  olive  drab  uniform,  and  being  permitted 
an  active  share  in  the  "job  to  be  done  *over  there.'" 

Horace  was  a  quiet,  college-absorbed  Sophomore  at 
Cornell  when  the  Great  War  broke  out.  It  was  n't  until 
two  years  later  that  he  realized  that  this  war  concerned 
him.  Fully  alive,  then,  to  its  significance,  he  obtained^ 
after  some  delay,  the  consent  of  his  family  to  sail  for 
France  with  the  first  Cornell  unit  as  a  volunteer  in  the 
American  Field  Service.  This  was  the  well-known  first 
group  of  armed  Americans,  carrying  the  American  flag^ 
to  march  through  the  streets  of  Paris  after  the  United 
States  had  declared  war  on  Germany.  Their  stirring  ova- 
tion hum.bled  while  it  inspired  Horace.  "Though  we  are 
only  forty,  and  not  worth  our  food,"  he  wrote,  "we  are 

treated  by  everyone  like  kings ! The  only  thing 

lacking  is  500,000  or  more  men  in  olive  drab  under  the 
same  flag." 

Then  passed  six  weary  months  of  camion  driving,  but 
Horace  never  complained,  because  he  was  helping  the 
French,  and  the  French  poilus  were  to  him  "the  most 
wonderful  people  in  the  world."  France  itself  he  loved  as 
"my  second  country."  The  beauty,  and  the  pathos,  and 
the  courage  of  this  country  were  ever-new  miracles  to 
him. 

Upon  completing  his  engagement  in  the  Field  Service^ 
when  his  family  wished  him  to  come  home,  he  wrote  that 
he  could  not  return  to  college :  " You  must  try 

151 


HORACE  BAKER  FORMAN,  3d 


to  remember  that  really  I  am  only  a  little  bit  of  a  thing 

in  a  big  mass I  must  get  into  line  in  some  regular 

service  and  stay  to  the  finish." 

Young  Forman's  enlistment  with  the  camion  service 
expired  October  14,  191 7.  Within  the  week  he  had  en- 
listed in  the  United  States  Air  Service.  For  three  trying 
months,  he  was  detained  in  an  aviation  camp,  waiting  to 
go  into  training.  At  this  time  he  gave  thanks  for  having 
been  taught  to  play  chess  when  he  was  young.  *'You 
have  lots  to  thank  other  people  for  if  you  take  time  to 
think  —  and  you  have  lots  of  time  over  here  !  When  you 

stand  out  in  the  dark  with  a  gun and  with 

nothing  to  do  but  keep  awake ,  you  can  do  a  lot 

of  thinking!" 

Inaction  ended  the  first  part  of  February,  and  by  the 
15th,  he  was  settled  at  a  training  camp  in  Foggia,  Italy, 
really  flying  at  last.  He  showed  from  the  first  that  he  was 
a  born  flyer.  In  three  months  he  had  completed  the  train- 
ing and  received  his  commission  as  Second  Lieutenant, 
on  May  18,  1918. 

Lieutenant  Forman  was  sent  back  to  France  for  ad- 
vanced work.  Though  skilled  in  bombing,  he  chose  the 
work  of  Chasse  pilot,  as  more  sportsmanlike.  There  were 
inexplicable  delays  and  as  he  waited  orders,  on  Septem- 
ber 14th,  he  was  killed  in  a  sad  and  strange  aeroplane 
accident,  when  in  descending  from  his  plane,  "the  pro- 
peller fractured  his  skull,  causing  immediate  death." 

But  the  Crusader^s  spirit  cannot  die.  His  life  was  For- 
man's gift  to  his  country  and  to  France  ;  his  spirit  of  un- 
selfish service  was  his  gift  to  humanity  —  his  memory 
will  live  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  men. 


152 


HAROLD  HOLDEN  SAYRE 

Lieutenant  Harold  H.  Sayre  possessed  in  no  small  de- 
gree the  finest  qualities  of  young  American  manhood. 
Clean-cut  and  manly  are  perhaps  the  adjectives  which 
best  describe  his  personality,  and  underneath  an  at- 
tractive exterior  was  a  sturdy  soul  upheld  by  the  highest 
of  principles.  As  one  of  his  intimate  friends  has  said  : 
"He  had  principles  and  stuck  to  them  regardless  of  all 
and  I  loved  him  for  his  straightforward  ways." 

A  student  at  Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  University,  he  en- 
listed toward  the  end  of  his  sophomore  year,  in  the  Ameri- 
can Field  Service,  and  with  the  second  Stanford  Unit 
landed  at  Bordeaux  on  June  28,  191 7.  From  July  to 
October  he  was  with  Section  Ten  in  the  Balkans,  and 
under  the  particularly  trying  conditions  of  the  eastern 
front  he  received  his  initiation  into  active  warfare.  The 
summer  of  191 7  was  spent  carrying  wounded  over  the 
difficult  passes  and  rough  roads  of  the  Albanian  moun- 
tains and  in  September  the  Section  took  part  in  the  suc- 
cessful Albanian  offensive. 

Returning  to  Paris  on  November  18,  191 7,  he  resigned 
from  the  Field  Service,  then  being  taken  over  by  the 
American  Army,  and  on  December  5th  enlisted  in  avia- 
tion. He  was  trained  in  various  schools  in  southern 
France,  received  his  commission,  and  was  attached  to  the 
nth  Aero  Bombing  Squadron.  It  was  while  attending 
the  bombing  school  at  Clermont-Ferrand  that  he  first 
met  Lieutenant  Shidler,  later  his  pilot  and  friend,  who 
has  written  of  him  : 

"It  was  not  hard  after  arriving  at  this  field  to  pick  out 
the  most  efficient  bombers.  All  records  were  accessible 
and  Lieutenant  Sayre's  was  easily  among  the  best.  His 
strong  personal  character,  his  clean  mode  of  living,  and 
the  high  code  he  set  as  a  standard  to  live  by,  made  him  a 
prominent  figure  among  the  officers  at  that  place,  and  his 
good  sense  of  humor  made  companionship  with  him  most 
agreeable.    He  was  fond  of  outdoor  exercise  and  I  shall 

153 


HAROLD  HOLDEN  SAYRE 


never  forget  the  long  walks  through  the  vineyards  of 
southern  France  and  the  swimming  in  the  warm  rivers 
while  he  and  I  were  together.  While  visiting  the  cities 
and  resorts  he  found  his  pleasure  rather  in  the  ancient 
architecture  and  the  beautiful  drives  than  in  the  bright 
lights  of  the  town.  His  constant  desire  to  learn  and  his 
devotion  to  duty  were  such  that  he  would  often  sit  under 
the  most  adverse  circumstances  and  finish  a  map  of  some 
particular  objective,  when  it  was  a  common  habit  to  let 
such  things  slip  by  as  easily  as  possible  and  let  the  re- 
sponsibility rest  upon  the  one  in  command." 

As  a  member  of  the  nth  Aero  Bombing  Squad,  Lieu- 
tenant Sayre  took  part  in  the  St.  Mihiel  drive  early  in 
September,  191 8,  and  on  the  morning  of  September  14th 
was  sent  out  with  his  pilot.  Lieutenant  Shidler,  in  com- 
pany with  a  formation  of  several  planes,  to  bomb  certain 
objectives  near  the  city  of  Conflans.  The  mission  ac- 
complished, they  were  attacked  by  a  superior  number  of 
German  planes  and  in  the  ensuing  combat  Lieutenant 
Sayre  was  killed,  although  he  kept  his  guns  going  until 
life  left  his  body.  His  pilot,  who  was  severely  wounded, 
was  able  to  land  the  plane  at  Rezonville  in  the  German 
lines,  where  he  was  taken  prisoner.  It  was  here  that 
Lieutenant  Sayre  was  first  buried,  but  his  body  was  later 
removed  to  the  American  cemetery  at  Thiaucourt. 

He  met  death  as  bravely  and  squarely  as  he  had  faced 
life,  with  no  thought  but  for  the  cause  at  stake  and  no 
desire  but  to  serve  this  cause  with  the  best  which  he  had, 
even  to  the  final  sacrifice. 


154 


HAROLD  HOLDEN  SAYRE 

Born  February  7,  1895,  in  Hutchinson,  Minnesota.  Son  of  A.  Judson  and 
Harriet  H.  Sayre.  Lived  in  Harvey,  North  Dakota ;  Calgary,  Alberta, 
Canada;  and  Hollywood,  California.  Educated  Western  Canada  College, 
Calgary;  Harvard  Military  School,  Los  Angeles,  California;  Hollywood 
High  School,  and  Leland  Stanford  University,  Class  of  1919.  Joined  Ameri- 
can Field  Service,  June  9,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Ten  in  the  Balkans  to 
November  22,  1917.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation,  December  5,  1917.  Trained 
Clermont-Ferrand.  Commissioned  Second  Lieutenant,  June  i,  1918;  at- 
tached nth  Aero  Squadron,  ist  Day  Bombing  Group.  Shot  down  and 
killed  within  German  lines,  September  14,  191 8,  at  Rezonville,  west  of 
Metz.  Buried  Rezonville  by  Germans ;  body  transferred  to  American  Cem- 
etery, Thiaucourt,  Meurthe-et-Moselle,  ultimately  to  be  buried  in  Holly- 
wood, California. 


CHARLES  PATRICK  ANDERSON 

Born  April  20,  1896,  in  Oak  Park,  Illinois.  Son  of  Bishop  Charles  P.  and 
Janet  Glass  Anderson,  Educated  Oxford  School,  Chicago ;  Howe  School, 
Indiana;  University  of  Illinois,  two  years,  and  Dartmouth  College,  Class 
of  191 8.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  5,  191 7  ;  attached  Transport 
Sections  133  and  526  to  October  8,  191 7.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation.  Trained 
Clermont-Ferrand  and  commissioned  First  Lieutenant ;  attached  96th 
Pursuit  Squadron.  Shot  down  and  killed,  September  16,  1918,  within  Ger- 
man lines,  near  Conflans.  Buried  Joudreville,  Meurthe-et- Moselle,  north  of 
Conflans.  Body  transferred  to  St.  Mihiel  American  Cemetery,  Thiaucourt, 
Meurthe-et-Moselle. 


CHARLES  PATRICK  ANDERSON 

'*  But  after  all,  the  main  question  is  not  whether  men  live 
or  die.  It  is  whether  they  live  or  die  for  a  good  purpose." 
The  words  are  Bishop  Anderson's.  His  son,  Charles  Pat- 
rick Anderson,  did  die  for  the  highest  purpose  a  man  may 
know,  and  so,  too,  he  had  lived.  The  father  says  that  one 
can  only  guess  what  kind  of  a  man  he  would  have  be- 
come, but  we  who  see  the  record  of  his  achievement  know 
the  answer  to  such  questioning:  "Pat"  must  have  fol- 
lowed his  fine  ideals  through  all  his  days,  must  have 
chosen  trails  along  the  mountain  peaks,  must  have  made 
his  career  in  continuation  as  unselfish,  as  clean,  and  as 
complete  as  he  made  the  all  too  brief  years  he  lived. 

September  i6,  191 8,  four  bombing  Breguets  of  the 
96th  Squadron  crossed  the  lines  in  the  late  afternoon. 
Lieutenant  Anderson  piloting  the  foremost  plane  with 
Lieutenant  Hugh  Thompson  as  his  observer.  In  his  offi- 
cial report.  Lieutenant  Codman,  shot  down  in  the  raid, 
says,  as  if  it  were  an  insignificant  commonplace  to  fly 
four-strong  against  twenty-four,  "On  approaching  Con- 
flans,  twenty-four  enemy  aircraft  were  sighted  making 

for  us They  engaged  us  after  we  had  reached  our 

objective  and  dropped  our  bombs."  With  no  thought  of 
turning  from  their  course  until  their  goal  was  reached, 
"'Pat*  remained  perfectly  calm  throughout  and  kept  on 
flying  his  plane  as  if  nothing  were  happening."  Codman 
"saw  four  German  planes,  two  on  each  side,  dive  at 

Hugh's   plane "    "Pat,"  another   survivor   said, 

"instead  of  starting  the  machine  downward"  to  escape, 
"bravely  faced  the  machine-gun  fire  of  the  Boche,  thus 

protecting  the  other  planes  back  of  him such  a 

wonderfully  brave  deed "  What  less  was  possible 

for  one  who  wrote,  "  W^ar  is  war,  and  all  any  of  us  can  do 
is  to  trust  in  God  and  go  to  it." 

"Pat"  was  an  out  of  doors  boy.  City  life,  society, 
theatres,  parties  were  of  mere  passing  interest,  "worth 
while  but  unsatisfying."   Many  things  interested,  but  it 

155 


CHARLES  PATRICK  ANDERSON 


was  the  "great  outdoors"  that  absorbed  him.  A  reticent 
boy,  he  became  exuberant  when  he  escaped  to  the  winds 
and  spaces,  away  from  streets  and  houses.  He  loved  and 
was  loved  by  animals.  He  hunted  and  fished  and  rode. 
Never  one  for  shallow  half-friendships,  his  friends  were 
many  —  loyal  and  worth  while.  Yet  always  his  boon 
companion  was  his  father.  Keenest  enjoyment  he  had  on 
mountain  top  or  in  the  depths  of  forests,  in  the  soli- 
tudes. What  wonder  then  that  he  was  supremely  happy 
in  the  air !   "He  mastered  the  air,"  "he  played  with  the 

air,"  " he  loved  flying,"  say  comrades.    There 

"Pat"  was  at  home.  In  his  own  words,  "God  is  in  the 
air  as  well  as  on  the  ground." 

Rejected  in  America  for  aviation,  he  joined  the  Field 
Service,  giving  himself  whole-heartedly  to  his  work  of 
truck-driving.  But  his  dreams  were  of  the  air,  and,  in 
October,  191 7,  he  became  a  flier.  He  was  pilot  of  the  first 
American  bombing  team  to  cross  the  lines,  and  at  the 
time  of  their  death,  "Pat"  and  his  observer  were  the 
only  untouched  flying  members  of  the  original  Squadron, 
all  the  others  having  been  wounded,  captured,  or  killed. 

Constantly,  "Pat"  assured  the  family  of  his  abounding 
health  and  peace  of  mind.  "Your  worryings  would  turn 
to  envy  if  only  you  could  see  the  delightful  time  I  am 
having  and  still  getting  credit  for  being  a  soldier."  But 
he  was  honestly  humble  in  his  service,  "Take  off  your 
hat,  father,"  he  said,  "to  the  men  in  the  trenches." 

"In  the  presence  of  Death  one  thinks  more  about  char- 
acter than  about  accomplishment,"  says  "Pat's"  father, 
and  later,  "he  never  caused  his  sisters  to  blush  or  his 
parents  to  sigh."  What  finer  success  of  character  could 
be  a  man's  than  that  ? 


156 


BENJAMIN  HOWELL  BURTON,  Junior 

When  two-score  students  in  the  University  of  California 
offered  their  services  to  France,  one  of  the  most  enthu- 
siastic supporters  of  the  abstract  idea,  as  well  as  a  leader 
in  the  actual  organizing  of  the  college  unit  for  the  Ameri- 
can Field  Service,  was  Benjamin  Howell  Burton,  Junior. 

It  is  difficult  for  anyone  not  a  native  of  the  Pacific 
states  to  appreciate  just  how  distant  from  America  the 
war  seemed  to  them  in  its  early  days.  It  required  time 
and  much  urging  from  within  to  stir  their  sympathies 
and  to  awaken  a  realization  of  their  inherent  obligation 
in  the  cause  of  France.  It  is  remarkable  then  to  find 
among  western  youths  a  strong  spirit  which  found  ex- 
pression in  such  sacrifice  as  that  of  "Ben"  Burton's. 

Not  yet  of  age  when  war  came  and  in  his  third  year  of 
college,  he  laid  aside  his  books,  and  joined  eagerly  in  ar- 
ranging for  the  enlistment  of  his  group  in  the  Field  Ser- 
vice. As  eagerly,  when  they  arrived  in  France,  he  en- 
tered into  that  work  which  promised  most  immediate 
action,  becoming  a  driver  in  Camion  Section  133  of  the 
Mallet  Reserve.  With  Section  Erhardt,  of  Groupement 
P6risee,  he  began  his  training  at  Chavigny  Farm,  the 
camion  center,  north  of  Soissons.  Later  the  Section  made 
its  home  at  Jouaignes,  south  of  the  Vesle.  Here,  as 
throughout  his  military  experiences,  "Ben"  did  his  part 
and  strengthened  that  estimate  of  his  character  which 
appears  in  the  words  of  a  California  judge  who  speaks  of 
his  "reputation  for  honesty,  integrity,  industry,  and  so- 
briety   high  principles  and  ideals."    "A  good 

specimen  of  young  manhood,"  Oscar  Robinson,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Colusa,  had  called  him 
when  he  volunteered.  And  to  the  end  he  set  an  example 
for  young  American  manhood. 

Young  Burton  was  given  the  French  War  Cross  in 
November,  191 7,  for  conspicuous  bravery  ''en  contrih- 
uant  ci  depanner  deux  camions  sous  un  violent  bombarde- 
ment  qui  fit  deux  victimes  d  ses  cdtesJ^    His  own  letters 

157 


BENJAMIN  HOWELL  BURTON,  Junior 

made  slight  mention  of  the  affair,  but  a  fellow  camion- 
neur  described  it  laconically  in  a  letter  :  "The  other  night 
they  sent  us  up  one  deuce  of  a  steep  hill  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  first  trenches  and  that  is  close  for  our  big 
trucks.  The  roads  were  slippery  and  full  of  shell-holes, 
which  made  driving  fierce.  About  nine  cars  got  stuck  in 
the  ditch  and  were  all  pulled  out  except  one  — '  Ben ' 
Burton's  and  'Herb'  Hope's.  They  had  to  stay  all 
night  in  the  cold  and  rain.  In  the  morning  the  Boche 
saw  them  and  began  throwing  in  four-inch  shells.  Two 
Frenchmen  were  killed  near  them,  but  the  California 
fellows  got  out  O.  K.  —  mighty  lucky." 

When  the  Transport  Service  was  taken  over  by  the 
American  Army  in  the  fall  of  19 17,  Burton  enlisted  in  the 
United  States  Field  Artillery.  After  training,  he  was 
commissioned  a  Second  Lieutenant,  and  assigned  to  an 
active  command.  On  September  15,  191 8,  just  as  he  was 
starting  for  the  front,  a  terrible  toothache  came  on,  and 
hoping  to  continue  immediately  with  his  reentry  into 
action,  **Ben"  underwent  an  examination  in  Toul.  An 
operation  was  decided  upon  at  Base  Hospital  45,  and 
ether  administered.  Young  Burton  never  came  out  of 
this  anesthetic,  however,  and  on  September  i8th  he  died 
of  laryngeal  oedema. 

His  is  one  of  those  deaths  which  seem  cruelly  inap- 
propriate for  a  vigorous  youth  —  for  one  who  had  al- 
ready served  with  the  French  armies  and  been  cited  for 
bravery.  Yet  for  one  of  "Ben"  Burton's  fine  spirit,  the 
manner  of  dying  —  as  the  glorious  climax  of  battle  or 
unglorified  in  a  hospital  at  the  rear  —  could  matter  but 
little  —  since  it  was  for  his  country  and  his  ideals. 


158 


BENJAMIN  HOWELL  BURTON,  Junior 

Born  June  i,  1896,  in  Willows,  Glenn  County,  California.  Son  of  Benjamin 
Howell  and  Anna  T.  Burton.  Home,  Colusa,  California.  Educated  Colusa 
Grammar  School ;  Belmont,  California,  Military  School ;  and  University  of 
California,  Class  of  1918.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  19,  1917; 
attached  Transport  Section  133  to  November  16,  1917.  Enlisted  U.S. 
Field  Artillery.  Commissioned  Second  Lieutenant:  attached  Motor  Bat- 
tery. Died  September  18,  1918,  under  ether,  of  larnygeal  oedema,  during 
operation  at  Base  Hospital,  Toul.  Buried  American  Cemetery,  Toul, 
Meurthe-et-Moselle.  Body  to  be  transferred  to  Willows,  Glenn  County, 
California. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  TAYLOR,  Junior 

Born  December  6,  1898,  in  Scranton,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  William  H.  and 
Nellie  Grace  Taylor.  Home,  New  York  City.  Educated  Phillips  Academy, 
Andover,  Class  of  1918.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  April  28,  1917; 
attached  Transport  Section  526  as  Sous-Chef,  to  August  27,  191 7.  Enlisted 
U.S.  Aviation,  August  28,  191 7.  Trained  Issoudun  and  Toul.  Commis- 
sioned First  Lieutenant,  November  29th.  To  front  with  95th  Aero  Squad- 
ron, February,  1918;  Flight  Commander.  Hospital  following  accident, 
June  to  September,  1918.  Shot  down  and  killed,  September  18,  1918.  near 
Lake  Lachausee,  north  of  Thiaucourt.  Croix  de  Guerre  with  palm.  Rec- 
ommended D.  S.  C.  Ofificially  credited  two  enemy  planes.  Buried  in  St. 
Mihiel  American  Cemetery,  Thiaucourt,  Meurthe-et-Moselle. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  TAYLOR,  Junior 

"Big  Bill"  Taylor  was  what  he  was  called  by  his  com- 
rades at  Issoudun  and  Toul  and  the  affectionate  nick- 
name did  not  refer  alone  to  his  size.  Though  only  nine- 
teen years  old  when  he  made  the  supreme  sacrifice,  he  had 
already  shown  himself  a  natural  leader  of  men.  On  his 
arrival  in  France  in  the  American  Field  Service  he  was 
immediately  made  an  adjutant  in  his  camion  section,  and 
later  on,  though  he  was  the  youngest  man  in  his  squadron, 
he  was  appointed  one  of  three  Flight  Commanders.  He 
was  "Big  Bill,''  too,  for  his  skill  and  daring  as  a  pilot. 
"His  exploits  at  Issoudun"  says  Major  Claude  Fuess  in 
"Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  in  the  Great  War,"  "were 
remembered  for  months  after  he  left  there, —  especially 
his  feat  of  flying  under  low-hanging  wires  into  a  hospital 
court  and  then  out  over  the  enclosing  wall." 

William  was  at  Andover  in  the  spring  of  191 7,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  class  of  191 8.  Quite  naturally  he  was  one  of 
the  first  to  respond  to  the  idea  of  an  Andover  Unit  of  the 
American  Field  Service.  And  on  April  27th  he  sailed  as 
a  member  of  that  body.  He  served  with  Section  526  of 
the  camion  branch  until  August  27th,  when  he  received 
his  honorable  discharge,  and  the  next  day  enlisted  in  the 
American  Aviation  Corps.  Within  two  months  he  was 
commissioned  First  Lieutenant  and  early  in  19 18  he  left 
for  the  front  with  the  first  American  Chasse  Squadron  — 
the  95th.  From  the  time  of  his  first  patrol  he  showed  the 
same  dash  and  ability  as  a  combat  pilot  that  had  so  dis- 
tinguished his  work  in  training  and  it  was  only  a  short 
time  before  he  received  his  appointment  as  Flight  Com- 
mander. Captain  John  Mitchell,  the  commander  of  the 
95th  Squadron,  has  described  the  combats  that  won 
William  recommendations  for  the  Croix  de  Guerre  and 
Distinguished  Service  Cross  "for  displaying  exceptional 
judgment  and  courage  in  aerial  combat."  The  D.  S.  C. 
was  unfortunately  held  up  in  spite  of  the  earnest  and 
unanimous  requests  of  his  immediate  superiors  but  the 

159 


WILLIAM  HENRY  TAYLOR,  Junior 

Croix  de  Guerre  with  palm  was  later  awarded  by  the  6th 
French  Army.  "While  on  a  patrol  in  the  Toul  sector  on 
May  2ist,"  wrote  Captain  Mitchell,  "he  attacked  and 
destroyed  a  bi-place  German  photographic  machine 
which  was  operating  over  our  lines  and  on  May  28th, 
with  another  pilot,  he  brought  down  another  bi-place 
German  plane,  out  of  a  formation  of  five.  In  June  while 
'taking  off'  from  the  field  at  Toul  an  accident  occurred 
which  caused  him  to  be  sent  to  an  American  hospital  at 
Chateauroux,  after  which  he  went  to  Biarritz  to  re- 
cuperate." 

This  unfortunate  accident  and  the  enforced  absence 
from  the  front  caused  "Big  Bill"  to  fret  with  impatience, 
and  when  he  rejoined  the  squadron  on  September  5th, 
he  was,  in  his  own  words,  "spoiling  for  a  fight."  He 
"took  an  active  part  in  the  recent  and  successful  St. 
Mihiel  drive,"  wrote  Captain  Mitchell,  "doing  excep- 
tional work  in  low  flying  and  '  straffing'  retreating  German 
troops  and  truck  trains."  On  the  i8th  while  on  patrol, 
he  saw  through  a  gap  in  the  clouds  a  battle  going  on 
below  him.  He  dove  immediately  to  the  rescue,  but  as 
he  emerged  from  the  clouds  he  was  attacked  by  three 
Fokkers  and  after  a  gallant  fight  against  hopeless  odds 
he  crashed  into  the  ground  at  Etang  de  La  Chaussee  near 
St.  Mihiel. 

Bill  Taylor  was  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  air,  beloved  of 
his  associates.  His  laughing,  courageous  daring  will 
never  be  forgotten,  but  he  will  live,  too,  in  the  memory  of 
his  friends  for  the  greatness  and  sweetness  of  his  nature. 
"I  shall  picture  him  always,"  wrote  Dr.  Stearns,  the 
Principal  of  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  who  early  rec- 
ognized in  Bill  the  qualities  of  manliness  and  leadership 
that  war  brought  out  so  strikingly,  "the  same  big- 
hearted,  generous,  clean  and  wholesome  fellow  it  has 
been  my  privilege  to  know." 


160 


FRED  A.  HANNAH 

When  a  comrade  was  killed  near  Montgobert  in  June^ 
191 8,  Fred  A.  Hannah  would  not  allow  the  hrancardiers 
to  make  a  hasty  burial  there,  and  refused  to  budge  from 
the  heavily  shelled  poste  until  the  body  was  given  to  him. 
Then  with  greatest  care  and  reverence  "Shorty"  drove 
back  where  a  fitting  funeral  could  be  held.  Hardly  more 
than  three  months  later  he  himself  was  killed.  They 
buried  him  at  Souilly,  with  military  honors,  and  the  men, 
with  whom  he  had  stood  by  that  other  grave,  grouped 
now  sadly  about  him,  yet  proud  in  their  grieving. 

Fred  was  extremely  reticent  and  never  discussed  his 
personal  affairs,  perhaps  feeling  them  of  small  interest  to 
others  in  so  large  a  world.  As  his  sister  says,  "It  never 
occurred  to  him  that  he  had  ever  done  anything  more 
than  his  duty."  One  entry  in  his  diary  is  especially 
characteristic:  "Have  been  lucky  enough  to  be  recom- 
mended for  the  Croix  de  Guerre.  Don't  know  what 
for."  But  those  who  had  worked  beside  him  knew,  and 
were  glad.  He  always  did  more  than  his  share.  If  a 
man  lagged  from  exhaustion,  somehow,  without  any 
fuss,  "Shorty"  was  in  his  place  doing  the  extra  tasks. 
If  a  man  had  trouble,  Fred  was  sure  to  be  found  helping 
him  out  of  his  difficulty.  In  fear,  however,  of  appearing 
better  than  he  thought  himself  to  be,  Fred  tried  to  hide 
behind  a  crust  of  gruffness  and  a  biting,  sarcastic  tongue^ 
his  bigness  of  heart,  unselfishness,  and  sensitiveness.. 
And  yet  he  was  remarkable  in  "his  unassuming  modesty,, 
his  simple  straightforwardness,  and  his  hatred  of  all 
sham,  hypocrisy,  and  pretense."  "Shorty"  had,  too, 
an  amazing  fund  of  dry  humor  and  an  ability  to  recount 
his  own  adventures  with  a  laughable  twist  that  was  ir- 
resistable. 

Fred  was  over  draft  age  when  war  came,  and  below 
standard  army  height,  being  not  quite  four  inches  over 
five  feet  tall.  Neither  these  facts,  nor  the  unusual  ac- 
tivity of  his  business  that  spring  weighed  with  him.     In 

161 


FRED  HANNAH 


less  than  a  month  Fred  wound  up  his  affairs  and  was  a 
volunteer  in  the  Field  Service,  representing  the  Scranton 
Presbyterian  Church,  but  meeting  his  own  expenses. 
He  joined  Section  Seventeen  in  the  field,  and  served  with 
it  as  a  driver  until  his  death.  He  had  intended,  in  jus- 
tice to  his  business,  to  remain  only  six  months  ;  but  Fred, 
who  would  have  scouted  the  idea  of  heroism  or  sacrifice, 
decided  that  personal  interests  must  wait.  The  re- 
cruiting officers,  however,  rejected  him  for  dental  de- 
fects, and  only  after  considerable  treatment,  a  letter 
from  Field  Service  headquarters,  and  a  very  informal 
examination,  could  he  get  himself  accepted.  His  own 
accounts  of  this  were  excruciatingly  comic.  Yet  what 
more  truly  heroic  and  pathetic  than  this  lonely  little 
man  fighting  to  secure  the  privilege  of  dying  in  service. 

"His  letters  were  cheerfully  optimistic,"  writes  his 

sister,  " with  never  a  complaint  of  hardships ; 

filled  with  the  doings  of  the  section  and  nothing  of  his 
own  achievements."  An  old  friend  speaks  of  "his  won- 
derfully clear  vision  of  his  duty,"  and  Fred  entered  upon 
it  not  as  an  enthusiastic,  careless  youth,  but  with  the 
mature  judgment  of  a  man  who  has  counted  the  cost 

and  will  not  be  deterred.     He  became  " one  of 

the  best  drivers  in  the  section distinguishing 

himself  by  his  devotion  to  duty  and  the  extreme  gentle- 
ness and  consideration  he  showed  his  wounded."  "The 
biggest  little  man  I  ever  knew,"  said  a  companion. 

On  the  night  of  September  20,  191 8,  at  Deuxnouds, 
not  far  from  St.  Mihiel,  Fred  was  returning  from  duty 
when  a  German  plane  let  fall  a  number  of  bombs.  The 
first  one  landed  close  to  "Shorty,"  wounding  him  terribly, 
and  he  lived  only  a  few  minutes.  He  had  made  his  de- 
cision long  before,  and  he  was  not  afraid  now.  In  those 
last  moments  he  smiled,  as  a  great  man  may,  and  went 
to  meet  death  smiling,  perfectly  content  to  die  for  his 
ideals. 


162 


FRED  A.  HANNAH 

Born  April  9,  1885,  in  Scranton,  Pennsylvania.  Son  of  Hugh  M.  and  Eliza- 
beth J.  Hannah,  Educated  Scranton  schools  and  Mercersburg  Academy, 
Class  of  1907.  In  business  with  Unity  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  Berwinsdale. 
Entered  real  estate  business  for  himself,  1913,  Scranton.  Joined  Ameri- 
can Field  Service,  July  9,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Seventeen  to  September 
20, 191 7.  Enlisted  as  private  U.  S.  A.  Ambulance  Service  with  French  Army. 
Croix  de  Guerre.  Killed  by  aeroplane  bomb  at  Deuxnouds-aux-Bois,  nof^ 
of  St.  Mihiel,  September  20,  1918.  Buried  at  Souilly,  Meuse.  Body  to  be 
transferred  to  Dunmore  Cemetery,  Scranton,  Pennsylvania. 


LEON  HAMLINK  BUCKLER 

Born  January  6,  1894  in  Farmington,  New  York.  Son  of  John  A.  and 
Addie  Hamlink  Buckler.  Home,  Rochester,  New  York.  Educated  West 
High  School,  Rochester,  and  three  years  Rochester  University,  Class  of 
191 7.  Publishing  business,  Buffalo,  and  Curtis  Aeroplane  Company. 
Joined  American  Field  Service,  December  18,  191 6  ;  attached  Section  Four 
to  summer  of  191 7.  Attached  Field  Service  Camp,  May-en-Multien.  En- 
listed U.  S.  A.  Ambulance  Service  with  French  Army.  First  Sergeant.  Re- 
assigned Section  Four  (627).  Died  September  19,  1918,  of  pneumonia,  in 
Urbes,  Alsace,  and  buried  there.  Body  to  be  transferred  to  Mount  Hope 
Cemetery,  Rochester,  New  York.  Croix  de  Guerre. 


LEON  HAMLINK  BUCKLER 

The  quiet  heroism  of  Leon  H.  Buckler  shines  out  so 
steadily  and  warmly  from  the  simple  narration  of  his 
services,  that  the  following  letter  from  a  co-worker  reveals 
the  man  with  a  sincerity  and  completeness  difficult  to  equal. 

"The  first  time  I  met  Buckler  was  in  the  late  fall  of 
19 16,  when  he  joined  Section  Four  of  the  American  Field 
Service.  He  arrived  at  Ippecourt  in  the  Verdun  Sector 
when  the  snow  was  on  the  ground  and  the  weather  con- 
ditions the  worst  that  had  been  seen  in  France  in  twenty 
years.  He  was  a  small,  slight  figure  of  a  man,  looking 
so  delicate  that  one  wondered  whether  he  would  have 
the  physical  strength  and  stamina  to  go  through  the 
War.  We  were  living  in  Ippecourt  in  brushwood  com- 
partments made  by  German  prisoners,  with  very  little 
protection  from  the  weather. 

"It  happened  that  I  took  Buckler  up  with  me  as 
orderly  on  my  car  to  Esnes  on  his  first  trip  to  the  front. 
We  drove  back  and  forth  most  of  the  night  through  a 
blinding  snow  storm  in  the  bitter  cold,  with  the  usual 
amount  of  shelling  on  the  road,  as  this  post  and  sector 
were  always  pretty  active.  Buckler  showed  remarkable 
courage  and  no  nervousness  under  the  shell  fire,  and 
seemed  as  keen  as  mustard  for  the  work.  He  exhibited 
an  extraordinary  amount  of  wiry  strength  in  helping 
carry  the  wounded  to  and  from  the  car,  and  in  helping 
push  the  car  through  the  snow  and  mud.  Altogether 
we  had  a  very  strenuous  night,  and  when  we  got  back  to 
Ippecourt  for  breakfast  in  the  morning  we  were  ready 
for  a  few  hours'  sleep.  However,  I  found  that  I  had  to 
go  at  once  to  a  hospital  for  a  wounded  man.  I  said 
nothing  to  Buckler,  supposing  he  would  want  to  finish 
his  breakfast  and  get  some  sleep.  Before  I  could  get 
away  he  came  out  and  volunteered  to  go  with  me  so  as 
to  learn  the  roads  to  the  hospitals.  This  showed  the 
kind  of  a  man  he  was,  and  his  reputation  with  the  Sec- 
tion was  established  from  that  time  on. 

163 


LEON  HAMLINK  BUCKLER 


"He  was  a  quiet,  unobtrusive  fellow,  always  on  the 
job.  He  invariably  kept  his  car  in  good  order  and 
showed  a  surprising  strength  for  one  of  his  slight  build. 
A  few  months  later,  as  Chef  of  the  section,  I  considered 
Buckler  a  driver  upon  whom  I  could  always  depend, 
and  yet  we  worried  about  him  because  of  his  delicate 
constitution. 

**  Finally  in  the  spring  of  191 7,  after  having  been 
through  a  winter  at  the  front  of  terrific  cold  and  exposure 
in  which  many  of  the  section  were  taken  sick,  Buckler 
came  down  with  severe  pneumonia.  In  the  hospital  at 
Bar-le-Duc,  owing  to  the  best  of  care  by  the  French,  he 
was  just  able  to  pull  through.  What  a  welcome  he  re- 
ceived in  his  Section  after  his  convalescence ! 

"When  he  recovered,  I  insisted  at  Headquarters  that 
Buckler  be  sent  to  help  in  conducting  the  training  camp 
near  Meaux,  that  he  might  be  less  exposed  to  the  cold 
and  inclement  weather  for  I  feared  that  at  the  front  he 
might  again  contract  pneumonia.  Buckler  was,  there- 
fore, sent  to  May-en-Multien,  much  against  his  will. 

"Later,  in  the  fall  of  191 7,  he  enlisted  in  the  United 
States  Army  Ambulance  Service  with  the  French  Army, 
was  made  a  first  Sergeant,  and  on  his  own  very  insistent 
request,  was  sent  back  again  to  the  front  with  his  old 
Section.  Here  he  continued  the  faithful  record  he  had 
always  made  in  the  old  volunteer  days,  but  in  the  late 
summer  of  191 8,  when  the  Section  was  working  in  the 
mountains  of  Alsace,  he  contracted  another  case  of 
pneumonia,  and  from  this  he  died  on  September  19th, 
in  the  little  village  of  Urbes  in  Alsace  Reconquise." 

"He  left  behind  him  many  devoted  friends  and  a 
record  of  courage  and  service  and  devotion  of  which  all 
his  friends  and  family  may  well  be  proud." 


164 


ARTHUR  CLIFFORD  KIMBER 

To^the  memory  of  Arthur  Clifford  Kimber,  of  California, 
killed  in  action  over  Bantheville,  France,  is  linked  the 
distinctive  honor  of  bearing  the  first  official  American 
flag  to  France  after  the  United  States  joined  in  the  Great 
War.  These  pioneer  colors,  dedicated  at  an  impressive 
ceremony  under  the  auspices  of  the  Friends  of  France, 
in  San  Francisco,  Kimber  unfurled  before  Section  Four- 
teen, drawn  up  with  a  company  of  French  veterans, 
near  Ligny-en-Barrois. 

When  the  Field  Service  was  taken  over  by  the  United 
States  Army,  Arthur  Kimber  decided  to  enlist  in  avia- 
tion, and  trained  hoping  to  become  a  chasse  pilot.  This 
ambition  he  later  realized,  and  during  the  heat  of  the 
great  battles  over  the  fields  of  France,  in  the  summer  of 
191 8,  he  was  doing  his  share  of  the  work  as  a  fighting 
scout.  He  took  part  in  three  great  battles  while  with 
the  Americans :  the  Argonne,  St.  Mihiel,  and  Sedan 
drives.  It  was  while  he  was  so  flying,  and  after  a  record 
of  splendid  achievement,  that  he  was  killed  behind  the 
German  lines,  September  26,  1918. 

Of  Kimber's  achievements,  Mr.  Henry  D.  Sleeper 
writes :  "His  death  is  equally  mingled  with  tragedy  and 
glory.  It  is  the  eternal  epic  of  high-spirited  and  patri- 
otic youth.  The  finest  blood  of  a  nation  is  always  ready 
to  give  the  fullest  sacrifice.  Those  who  are  willing  and 
fit  to  give  the  most  to  life  are  also  willing  to  give  the 
most  to  death." 

Kimber  left  behind  him  at  Stanford  University  an 
enviable  record.  Of  his  life  as  a  student.  Chancellor 
David  Starr  Jordan  said,  "The  character  of  this  young 
man  was  typical  of  the  best  in  America,  wise,  resource- 
ful, and  resolute,  yet  at  the  same  time  gentle  and  ideal- 
istic. It  was  my  fortune  to  know  him  well  as  a  student 
and  to  recognize  his  noble  qualities.  That  war  in- 
sistently devours  such  men  as  Clifford  Kimber  is  its 
final  indictment  at  the  bar  of  civilization." 

165 


ARTHUR  CLIFFORD  KIMBER 


Kimber  was  born  at  Bayville,  Long  Island,  on  March 
29,  1896.  He  was  a  senior  at  Stanford  when  he  offered 
himself  to  France  for  war  service.  Of  his  death  his 
colonel,  E.  C.  Whitehead,  has  written : 

"Arthur  Kimber,  of  the  22d  Aero  Squadron,  who  was 
killed  in  action  September  26th,  stands  out  markedly 
as  one  of  the  bravest  Americans  that  fought  in  this  war. 
Even  before  he  came  to  join  the  Second  Pursuit  Group  at 
Toul  in  August,  he  had  an  enviable  record  among  Amer- 
icans serving  in  France  with  the  Ambulance  Corps  and 
while  attached  to  a  French  escadrille  before  joining  an 
American  squadron. 

"On  the  26th  of  September  he  set  out  on  a  patrol  with 
his  squadron.  The  pursuit  planes  were  equipped  with 
two  light  bombs.  The  mission  was  to  "strafe"  roads 
between  Grandpre  and  Dun-sur-Meuse.  The  group  of 
three  led  by  Lieutenant  Kimber  went  to  the  region  of 
Romagne.  Lieutenant  Kimber  dived  toward  the  rail- 
road station.  His  machine  suddenly  blew  to  bits.  It 
is,  of  course,  unknown  whether  the  shells  of  artillery 
from  either  side  or  a  bullet  from  the  ground  striking  the 
bombs  caused  the  tragedy.  He  was  a  remarkable  pilot ; 
a  strong  adherent  to  the  requirements  of  duty ;  an  out- 
standing type  of  American  air  service  officer.'* 


166 


ARTHUR  CLIFFORD  KIMBER 

Born  March  29,  1896,  in  Bayville,  Long  Island,  New  York.  Son  of  Arthur 
Clifford  and  Clara  Evans  Kimber.  Home,  Palo  Alto,  California.  Educated 
Palo  Alto  High  School,  and  Leland  Stanford  University,  Class  of  191 7. 
Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  14,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Fourteen 
to  September  24,  191 7.  Enlisted  U.S.  Aviation.  Trained  Issoudun  and 
Cazeau.  Commissioned  First  Lieutenant ;  attached  2 2d  Aero  Squadron,  2d 
Pursuit  Group.  Served  with  French  Spad  Escadrille  85.  Killed  in  combat 
over  Bantheville  near  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  September  26,  1918. 
Body  as  yet  unrecovered. 


PHILIP  NEWBOLD  RHINELANDER 

Born  August  29,  1895.  Son  of  Thomas  Newbold  and  Katherine  Rhine- 
lander.  Home,  Lawrence,  Long  Island,  New  York.  Educated  St.  George's 
School,  Newport,  Rhode  Island ;  Thatcher  School,  California,  and  Harvard 
University,  Class  of  1918.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  July  i,  1916; 
atta:ched  Section  Nine  in  France  and  Ten  in  Albania  until  July  16,  191 7. 
Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation.  First  Lieutenant,  November,  191 7.  Trained  Tours 
and  Clermont-Fierrand ;  attached  20th  Day  Bombing  Squadron.  Killed  in 
combat,  September  26,  1918,  at  Murville,  over  German  lines  southeast  of 
Longuyon,  near  Audun-le-Roman.   Buried  Murville,  Meurthe-et-Moselle. 


PHILIP  NEWBOLD  RHINELANDER 

Philip  Rhinelander,  with  his  boyish  spirit,  and  his 
charm,  the  embodiment  of  a  fine  inheritance,  was  always 
a  favorite  in  whatever  group  he  mingled.  Courteous 
and  thoughtful  of  others  but  always  with  a  playful  smile 
on  his  lips,  he  won  the  affection,  admiration,  and  con- 
fidence of  everyone  who  knew  him.  Life  seemed  to  hold 
everything  for  him,  and  yet  one  knows  instinctively  that 
he  faced  death  with  that  same  playful  smile  hovering 
about  his  lips. 

On  September  26,  191 8,  the  first  day  of  the  great  Ar- 
gonne  offensive,  the  Twentieth  Aero  Squadron,  of  the 
First  Bombardment  Group,  was  ordered  to  bomb,  by 
daylight  and  at  all  costs,  the  railway  bridge  at  Dun-sur- 
Meuse  north  of  Verdun.  Fourteen  aviators  crossed  the 
lines  to  carry  out  this  mission.  "  Phir'  Rhinelander  was 
one  of  the  eleven  who  never  came  back. 

It  was  ** Phil's"  first  trip  over  the  lines.  He  was  pilot- 
ing a  DH4  bombing  plane  equipped  with  a  Liberty 
motor.  Near  the  village  of  Dun  the  flight  to  which  he 
belonged  beat  off  an  equal  number  of  Boche  avians,  and 
over  Longuyon  was  again  attacked,  this  time  by  about 
twenty  German  pursuit  planes  of  the  famous  Richthofen 
Squadron,  and  a  running  '  *cat-and-dog  fight '^  ensued. 

"We  lost  most  of  our  best  men,''  wrote  Lieutenant 
Sidney  Howard,  the  Flight  Leader,  "among  them  Rhine- 
lander   "     And    Lieutenant    Clarkson    Potter, 

who  was  decorated  with  the  D.  S.  C.  for  his  part  in  this 
raid,  and  later  himself  shot  down  and  killed  in  aerial 
combat,  wrote  in  a  letter  home:  "Several  times  during 
the  fight  I  saw  Rhinelander  and  Preston  blazing  away 
with  their  guns  as  fast  as  they  could  fire."  An  intelli- 
gence officer  attached  to  the  Air  Service  of  the  Fifth 
German  Army  has  described  the  onrush  of  the  Richtho- 
fen "Fokkers,"  and  writes:  "In  the  ensuing  general 
fight  three  Americans,  who  probably  wanted  to  cover  the 
retreat  of  the  others,  were  cut  off.     One  of  these  was 

167 


PHILIP  NEWBOLD  RHINELANDER 

Rhinelander Three    to    five    German    planes 

pounced  upon  each  of  these,  separated  from  the  rest, 
in  order  to  force  them  to  land  or  to  shoot  them  down. 
The  three  Americans  put  up  a  bitter  fight  and  gave  us 
hard  work.  The  hopeless  fight  may  have  lasted  ten 
minutes.  The  numerical  superiority  of  the  Germans, 
and  their  fighting  routine,  overcame  their  young  ad- 
versaries.'' French  eye-witnesses  agreed  that  there 
were  five  Boche  avians  attacking  his  plane  when  "Phil" 
fell. 

Rhinelander  left  Harvard  to  join  the  Field  Service  in 
the  summer  of  19 16  and  he  remained  with  it  as  a  volun- 
teer for  more  than  a  year.  He  was  at  first  attached  to 
Section  Nine,  then  working  in  the  mountains  of  Alsace- 
Reconquise.  Afterwards  he  was  one  of  those  who  vol- 
unteered to  make  up  Section  Ten,  which  was  being  sent 
out,  at  the  especial  request  of  French  Headquarters,  to 
work  with  the  French  troops  in  the  Balkans.  He  re- 
turned to  France  in  the  summer  of  19 17  ajid  enlisted  in 
the  American  Air  Service,  receiving  his  preliminary 
training  at  Tours  and  his  finishing  training  as  a  bombing 
pilot  at  Clermont-Ferrand. 

The  many  friends  "Phil"  made  during  the  war  were 
not  confined  to  his  own  countrymen.  His  bubbling 
gaiety  endeared  him  as  well  to  the  French  soldiers  and 
officers  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  It  was  as  im- 
possible not  to  feel  attracted  by  his  eagerness,  liveliness, 
and  grace  as  it  was  not  to  admire  his  intense  loyalty  and 
his  unfailing  anxiety  to  do  his  best.  He  fell  tb  his  death 
that  day,  close  to  the  pre-war  boundary  of  German 
Alsace-Lorraine,  with  the  same  high,  finely-tempered 
spirit  with  which  he  had  faced  every  experience  that 
devotion  to  duty  had  brought  him. 


168 


GEORGE  EATON  DRESSER 

George  Eaton  Dresser,  powerful,  athletic,  and  as 
modest  as  he  was  popular,  was  among  the  first  to  vol- 
unteer from  Phillips  Andover  Academy  and  thus  help 
bring  the  war  home  to  his  school  community.  Enlisting 
in  the  American  Field  Service,  he  joined  Camion  Unit 
T.  M.  U.  526  B  which  was  made  up  mainly  of  Andover 
men  and  he  served  from  June  25th  to  November  18, 
191 7.  At  the  first  opportunity  offered  him  he  entered 
the  Tank  Corps,  and  it  was  in  this  branch  of  the  service 
that  he  met  his  death. 

While  driving  his  tank  through  the  Vauquois  Woods 
in  the  first  wave  of  the  attack  which  crumbled  the  Ger- 
man line,  the  front  of  his  machine  was  hit  by  a  shell,  and 
he  was  instantly  killed.  Taken  sharply  in  battle,  while 
in  the  act  of  highest  service,  his  death  was  truly  a  fitting 
consummation  to  so  active  and  brave  a  life. 

In  his  school  he  possessed  a  rare  combination  of 
leadership  both  in  studies  and  athletics.  He  excelled 
in  all  kinds  of  sports,  and  stood  high  in  his  scholar- 
ship. For  this  "all-roundness"  he  received  the  Yale 
cup  in  his  senior  year  at  Andover.  He  also  found  time 
to  sing  in  the  Glee  Club,  and  to  act  on  the  governing 
board  of  the  Society  of  Inquiry,  the  religious  society  of 
Phillips  Academy.  Yet,  to  those  who  knew  him  best, 
modesty  was  his  outstanding  characteristic  —  incom- 
patible as  that  may  seem  with  his  great  gift  for  leader- 
ship. 

Big,  husky,  and  blonde,  he  was  universally  loved  and 
deferred  to.  It  has  been  said  of  him  that  he  "repre- 
sented the  highest  type  of  boy,  and  gave  promise  of  a 
remarkable  future.  He  excelled  in  anything  he  under- 
took, and  at  the  same  time  he  kept  his  head." 
v  "Having  been  in  charge  of  the  Andover  Unit,  of  which 
Dresser  was  a  member,"  writes  Frederick  J.  Daly,  "I 
can  truthfully  say  that  he  was  on  the  job  at  all  times, 
and  gave  his  best,  which  was  always  above  the  average.'' 

169 


GEORGE  EATON  DRESSER 


He  was  born  July  24,  1898,  in  Chicopee,  Massachu- 
setts. He  entered  Phillips  Academy  in  19 15,  and 
shortly  after  his  graduation,  two  years  later,  he  joined 
the  American  Field  Service. 

George  Dresser  was  one  of  the  Phillips  Academy  men 
to  whom  this  tribute  in  the  memorial  volume  of  his 
school,  is  particularly  applicable : 

"Willingly  enough  they  gave  their  youth,  and  their 
right  to  the  light  of  life  and  friendship.  We  who  knew 
them,  and  all  that  they  were,  realize  the  fullness  of  that 
offering.  They  never  looked  back  but  to  quicken  those 
who  followed,  and  so,  perhaps,  led  more  surely  than  they 
knew.  Out  of  their  dreams  they  have  left  us  great  re- 
alities —  and  many  tasks  to  make  worthy  these  days 
that  are  still  ours." 


170 


GEORGE  EATON  DRESSER 

Born  July  24,  1898,  in  Chicopee,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  George  and  Lillie 
King  Dresser.  Educated  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Class  of  191 7.  Platts- 
burg  Camp,  19 16.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  June  25,  191 7  ;  attached 
Transport  Section  526  to  November  18,  1917.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Tank  Corps. 
To  front,  September  6,  1918.  Killed  by  shell,  September  27,  1918,  in  action 
in  Vauquois  Woods,  near  Varennes,  north  of  Sainte-Menehould,  and  buried 
there. 


STAFFORD  LEIGHTON  BROWN 

Born  October  25,  1895,  in  Newton,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  George  W.  and 
Eugenie  Stafford  Brown.  Home,  Newton  Centre,  Massachusetts.  Edu- 
cated Newton  High  School  and  Dartmouth  College,  Class  of  1919.  Platts- 
burg  Camp,  1915.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  March  12,  1917;  at- 
tached Sections  Seventeen  and  Nineteen,  until  October  18,  191 7.  Enlisted 
in  French  Aviation,  July  21,  1917.  U.S.  Air  Service,  January  21,  1918. 
Commissioned  Second  Lieutenant.  Attached  Acceptance  Park,  Orly. 
Killed  in  accident  at  Hargeville,  September  28,  19 18.  Buried  American 
Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine. 


STAFFORD  LEIGHTON  BROWN 

With  all  the  zest  of  youth  and  an  adventure-loving 
nature,  Stafford  Leighton  Brown  went  abroad  a  month 
before  the  United  States  declared  war,  and  entered  joy- 
ously into  the  precarious  life  of  war:  **It's  certainly  fun 
and  excitement  —  something  I  Ve  always  wanted."  He 
was  young  and  utterly  unselfish  at  heart.  He  wrote 
home,  "If  I  should  hiappen  to  get  killed  don't  blame 
yourself,  I  will  die  having  a  good  time,"  yet  in  the  next 
breath  he  could  beg  his  mother  to  be  gay :  "Your  letters 
are  altogether  too  sad.  You  keep  speaking  about  death, 
but  we  all  feel  that  if  one  is  fighting  for  the  United  States, 
dying  is  not  to  be  feared  —  in  fact  it  is  quite  an  honor." 
To  Stafford  it  was  all  a  big,  fine  adventure.  He  could 
not  realize  that  war  was  a  thing  of  fears  and  forebodings 
for  those  who  waited  across  the  sea  for  news.  The  ex- 
pectation of  combat  and  great  moments,  even  should 
they  bring  an  end  to  living,  was  to  him  glorious  antici- 
pation. To  his  mind  there  was  no  cause  for  worry  ex- 
cept in  delays  and  idleness.  He  made  sincere  if  unsuc- 
cessful efforts  to  relieve  his  family's  anxieties,  writing 
in  his  last  letter:  "Don't  worry  about  me,  I  am  as  safe 
as  though  I  were  back  in  Newton  Centre,"  then  at  once 
effaced  his  reassurances  by  adding  that  an  aviator  friend 
had  been  killed  a  few  days  before. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  France  Stafford  helped  drive  chassis 
from  Bordeaux  to  Paris,  then  left  with  Section  Seven- 
teen for  the  front  as  an  ambulance  driver,  to  be  trans- 
ferred shortly  as  mechanic  to  Section  Nineteen.  His 
duty  it  then  was  to  keep  the  whole  section  fit  to  "roll," 
besides  which  he  drove  truckloads  of  wounded  and  sup- 
plies, and  in  "rush"  times  took  his  turn  with  an  ambu- 
lance. 

In  August  he  went  on  leave  and  was  released  to  enter 
aviation  in  the  Lafayette  Escadrille.  "Expect  to  be 
chasing  the  Boche  around  up  in  the  clouds  in  ajfew 
months  —  or  being  chased,"  he  wrote.     After  training 

171 


STAFFORD  LEIGHTON  BROWN 


with  the  French,  he  enlisted  in  the  American  service, 
being  breveted  on  May  2,  19 18.  Having  driven  almost 
every  make  of  plane,  he  was  placed  at  Orly  delivering 
machines  to  squadrons  at  the  front.  He  grew  "pretty 
sick  of  this  'ferry'  job,"  writing :  "It  looks  bad  now  for 
me.  I  '11  probably  be  stationed  here  for  the  duration  of 
the  war,  because  I  know  all  the  routes  to  the  front  and 
schools." 

He  wanted  his  people  to  be  proud  of  him  "for  having 
done  something  worth  while  or  for  dying  while  trying 
to  do  the  same."  "But  that,"  he  said,  "is  the  feeUng 
we  all  have  over  here,  so  it's  nothing  new."  Typical  of 
Stafford's  unconscious  generosity  are  his  words,  "I  re- 
ceived your  Christmas  box.  Everything  was  there  and 
was  finished  in  fifteen  minutes.  The  fellows  who  shared 
the  box  with  me  send  their  thanks,  too."  However 
thoughtless  of  himself  he  felt  keenly  for  others.  He  dis- 
liked testing  and  approving  planes:  "I  wouldn't  mind 
so  much  going  out  and  getting  killed  myself,  but  I  don't 
want  to  be  responsible  for  someone  else's  death." 

On  September  22,  having  "a  chance  to  go  to  a  large 
factory  and  test  planes,"  he  did  not  accept  because  it 
would  be  for  "duration."  So  "Staff"  went  on,  hoping 
always  that  he  might  be  sent  to  a  squadron,  and  feeling, 
as  he  expressed  it,  "pretty  much  of  an  emhusque  to  be 
only  driving  machines  out  there  for  them  to  take  and 
get  killed  in,"  until  six  days  later  his  plane  fell  at  Harge- 
ville  and  he  was  carried  into  the  Chateau  where  he  died. 
Not  in  combat,  but  in  making  tests  that  others  might 
not  die  needlessly,  and  in  furnishing  them  means  of 
fighting,  Stafford  did  his  part,  and  in  the  end  joined  the 
ranks  of  the  fighters  who  died  in  those  same  planes  for 
their  country. 


172 


JOHN  HOWELL  WESTCOTT,  Junior 

No  greatness  can  surpass  the  greatness  of  simplicity, 
and  it  is  before  such  greatness  th^t  we  stand  humble  in 
reviewing  the  war  service  of  John  Howell  Westcott>  Jr. 
There  is  nothing  dramatic  in  it,  nothing  spectacular, 
just  the  faithful  performance  of  what  he  considered  a 
simple  duty. 

In  Brussels  when  the  Germans  invaded  Belgium,  Jack 
Westcott  came  into  close  contact  with  the  war  at  its 
very  inception.  In  October,  191 6,  during  his  junior 
year  at  college,  he  slipped  off  to  Canada  to  enlist  in  the 
British  army,  feeling  that  he  must  offer  himself  as  a 
recruit.  Being  under  age  he  was  told  that  he  must  ob- 
tain his  father's  consent.  In  deference  to  his  father's 
wishes,  and  to  get  more  quickly  to  work,  he  consented 
to  go  to  France  as  an  ambulance  driver.  He  served  six 
months  at  the  front,  then  hastened  home  to  enlist  in  our 
own  army,  in  June,  191 7. 

Arriving  too  late  to  enter  the  officers'  training  camp, 
and  impatient  of  any  delay,  he  applied  for  admission  to 
the  aviation  branch.  Fearing  that  he  might  not  suc- 
ceed in  this  effort,  and  in  order  to  lose  no  time,  he  also 
enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  old  New  York  7th  National 
Guard  Regiment  so  that  he  might  be  drilling  while  wait- 
ing a  decision.  All  of  which  is  significant  and  character- 
istic in  the  face  of  his  personal  friendship  with  President 
Woodrow  Wilson,  from  whom  he  sought  no  favors  in  all 
his  eagerness  to  get  into  active  service. 

He  finally  passed  all  of  his  examinations  for  aviation 
and  was  told  he  would  soon  be  assigned  to  his  new  duties. 
No  further  notice  came,  and  at  length,  he  learned  that 
the  records  had  been  lost.  Being  then  at  Spartanburg, 
South  Carolina,  with  his  regiment,  he  decided  to  remain 
in  the  infantry.  The  regiment  sailed  in  May,  1918, 
and  very  soon  joined  the  British  army  in  French  Flanders, 
where  it  was  almost  constantly  in  action  for  five  months. 
Thus  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  working  side  by  side  with 

173 


JOHN  HOWELL  WESTCOTT,  Junior 

the  British,  to  whom  he  felt  attached  by  bonds  of  deep 
and  inherited  sympathy,  his  mother  being  a  direct  de- 
scendant of  John  and  Priscilla  Alden,  and  had  also  the 
happiness  of  fighting  for  the  France  he  loved. 

His  last  battle  was  fought  at  Le  Catelet.  He  was 
killed  in  action  while  returning  from  delivering  a  mes- 
sage for  his  captain.  Acting  as  an  interpreter  for  his 
company,  Westcott  had  been  offered  the  position  of  in- 
terpreter on  the  Divisional  Staff,  but  refused,  hating 
anything  short  of  what  he  considered  his  full  duty.  He 
died,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  a  private  in  "L*'  Com- 
pany of  the  107th  U,  S.  Infantry. 

The  very  human,  lovable  boyishness  of  him  is  well 
expressed  in  the  following  letter  from  a  "buddy": 
**  Westcott  was  not  as  well  known  in  the  company  at 
first  as  most  of  the  boys.  He  was  quiet,  reserved,  and 
did  not  seek  the  companionship  of  the  others.  He 
waited  for  them  to  come  to  him.  When  they  finally 
did  come  to  know  him  there  was  not  a  better  liked  nor 
more  highly  respected  man  in  the  company.  After  one 
really  got  to  know  'West'  his  reserve  seemed  to  dis- 
appear entirely.  His  sense  of  humor  was  of  the  finest, 
and  with  his  keen  wits  he  continually  kept  us  amused. 
I  never  heard  him  grumble." 

From  a  Princeton  man  comes  the  following  apprecia- 
tion :  "Jack  Westcott  had  one  of  the  most  perfectly 
balanced  characters  I  have  ever  known.  In  serious 
discussions  his  opinions,  because  of  their  soundness, 
generally  won  out.  In  more  frivolous  pursuits  Jack 
again  usually  set  the  pace.  In  fact,  he  seemed  naturally 
to  possess  all  the  qualities  which  go  to  make  a  young 
man  popular  with  everybody.  I  never  knew  a  more 
honorable  and  straightforward  fellow.  You  could  de- 
pend absolutely  on  his  friendship  being  unfailing  and 
sincere." 


174 


JOHN  HOWELL  WESTCOTT,  Junior 

Born  October  9,  1896,  in  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  Son  of  Professor  John 
Howell  and  Edith  F.  Sampson  Westcott.  Educated  Hoosac  School,  New 
York;  Hill  School,  Pottstown,  Pennsylvania;  and  Princeton  University, 
Class  of  19 18.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  November  11,  1916;  at- 
tached Section  Nine  until  May  6,  1917.  Returned  to  America.  June,  ap- 
plied for  aviation  and  enlisted  in  7th  N.  Y.  National  Guard  Regiment. 
Records  for  aviation  lost.  Trained  Spartanburg,  South  Carolina,  as  pri- 
vate. Sailed  May,  1918,  with  107th  Infantry  (ex-7th  N.  Y.  N.  G.),27th 
Division.  Served  with  British  Fourth  Army.  Killed  by  machine  gun  fire, 
September  29,  1918,  in  action  near  Bony,  south  of  Le  Catelet.  Buried 
Bony,  near  St.  Quentin,  Aisne. 


ALBERT  FRANK  GILMORE 

Born  May  31,  1895,  in  Haverhill,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Reverend  Frank 
A.  and  Marion  Gatchell  Gilmore.  Home,  Madison,  Wisconsin,  Educated 
Madison  schools  and  University  of  Wisconsin,  Class  of  1919.  Joined  Ameri- 
can Field  Service,  March  12,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Sixteen  to  November 
9,  191 7.  Enlisted  as  Cadet  in  U.  S.  Aviation.  Trained  Tours,  St.  Maixent, 
Voves,  Avord,  and  Issoudun.  Commissioned  Second  Lieutenant.  Died 
October  3,  1918,  of  pneumonia,  while  training  at  3d  Aviation  Instruction 
Center,  Issoudun.  Buried  Issoudun,  Indre.  Body  transferred  toJ^Win- 
throp,  Maine. 


ALBERT  FRANK  GILMORE 

Albert  Frank  Gilmore  left  the  Univiersity  of  Wiscon- 
sin in  the  middle  of  his  Sophomore  year  to  enlist  in  the 
American  Field  Service.  He  reached  Paris  in  March, 
191 7,  and  was  attached  to  Section  Sixteen,  which  left 
for  the  Verdun  front  about  the  middle  of  April.  One  of 
the  members  of  the  Section  has  said  of  its  personnel : 
"The  Section  was  composed  entirely  of  men  who  had 
come  to  France  before  America  had  entered  the  war,  and 
the  bond  that  united  them  from  the  very  outset  was  their 
love  for  France.''  It  was  this  love  of  France  which 
made  Albert  Gilmore  quick  to  see  and  appreciate  the 
sacrifices  that  the  French  were  making.  In  one  of  his 
letters  home  he  wrote:  "Everywhere  in  this  beautiful 
country  one  sees  the  black  dress  or  the  black  arm  band, 
and  yet,  every  day  there  are  hundreds  more  giving  their 
lives  gladly  for  France." 

Endued  with  the  same  readiness  to  serve  a  cause  and 
a  nation  which  he  esteemed  so  highly,  he  started  work 
at  the  front  and  shared  with  his  comrades  the  long  sum- 
mer of  preparation  for  the  final  attack  of  August  20th 
at  Verdun,  where  the  Section  made  a  name  for  itself  at 
Avocourt.  He  remained  with  the  Section  until  it  was 
absorbed  by  the  American  Army  in  November,  19 17. 
Even  before  leaving  the  Field  Service  he  was  impatient 
to  render  greater  service,  and  a  few  days  after  he  left 
Section  Sixteen,  he  enlisted  in  American  Aviation. 

There  followed  the  long  delay  with  months  of  weary 
waiting  at  Tours  and  St.  Maixent.  Then  at  length 
came  the  eagerly  awaited  flying  orders  and  training  be- 
gan. After  Voves  and  Avord  came  Issoudun.  Al- 
though he  had  had  a  bad  cold  for  some  weeks  he  refused 
to  allow  it  to  interrupt  his  training. 

It  was  this  fidelity  to  duty  and  this  zealous  prepara- 
tion for  active  service  that  cost  him  his  life.  He  died 
of  pneumonia  at  the  3d  Aviation  Instruction  Center 
Hospital  on  the  morning  of  October  3,  1918.     Ina  letter 

175 


ALBERT  FRANK  GILMORE 


written  to  his  Mother  at  the  time  of  his  death,  his  Com- 
manding Officer  said:  "Lieutenant  Gilmore  had  just 
fairly  started  his  flying  at  this  center  and  was  progres- 
sing nicely  when  he  contracted  his  fatal  illness.  He  had 
an  excellent  record  and  was  universally  held  in  high 
esteem  by  his  brother  officers.  His  death  was  a  sad 
blow  to  all  of  us.  You  may  always  have  the  satisfac- 
tion of  knowing  that  your  son  was  a  good  officer  and  a 
true  gentleman,  a  higher  tribute  than  which  there  is 
none.  He  was  intent  upon  preparing  himself  to  play 
an  important  part  at  the  front  when  the  unfortunate 
sickness  overtook  him.  His  life  was  dedicated  to  his 
country  and  he  left  with  his  fellow  officers  an  example 
of  earnestness  and  faithfulness  which  will  live  long.'* 

It  is  from  one  of  his  own  letters,  however,  that  we 
glean  the  best  evidence  of  that  quiet,  happy  assurance 
and  absolute  fearlessness  that  characterized  him  at  all 
times.  It  is  a  letter  written  to  his  parents  in  May, 
19 1 8,  shortly  after  the  death  of  his  brother  Bob  at  the 

Pelham  Bay  Naval  Station,  New  York.     " This 

morning  when  I  was  up  at  2,600  meters  I  felt  as  every 
fellow  feels,  that  there  is  no  one  up  there  but  himself 
and  God.  It's  a  queer  sensation  —  one  doesn't  dare 
even  think  a  cuss  word  when  something  goes  a  trifle 
wrong  with  the  motor.  Before  I  came  down  at  the  end 
of  my  hour  —  I  had  been  thinking  of  Bob  —  I  could 
almost  hear  him  calling  from  the  edge  of  a  big  fluffy 
cloud  just  ahead  of  me:  'Hi!  Al,  you  bum  aviator,  I 
got  across  all  right.'  I  know  he  did,  and  I  don't  mind 
much  where  I  pass  out  if  I  can  get  across  to  him  all  right 
too." 


176 


WALLER  LISLE  HARRISON,  Junior 

Waller  Lisle  Harrison,  Junior,  died  October  3,  1918",. 
as  the  result  of  an  aeroplane  accident,  and  his  body  lies 
buried  in  the  American  Cemetery  at  Issoudun,  France. 
"Harry  was  good  as  an  aviator  as  in  everything  else  he 
tried,"  writes  one  of  his  comrades,  "and  his  death  was 
caused  by  his  overzealousness  in  doing  his  duty.  He  went 
into  the  air  when  he  was  feeling  badly  and  should  have 
rested,  because  he  felt  that  he  must  fly  in  order  to  get  in: 
his  work  and  not  hold  up  the  classes.  His  idea  was  most 
commendable,  the  result  of  it  most  disastrous,  but  it  just 
went  to  make  up  the  calibre  of  the  boy." 

While  a  sophomore  at  Oberlin  College,  three  months 
before  America  entered  the  war,  he  became  interested  in 
the  work  which  the  American  Field  Service  was  doing  im 
France  and  determined  if  possible,  to  enlist.  He  was  at 
the  time  but  twenty  years  of  age  and  it  was  necessary,, 
before  his  application  could  be  accepted,  that  he  obtain 
the  consent  of  his  father,  who  objected  to  his  enlistment 
on  account  of  his  youth  and  his  uncompleted  course  at 
college.  So  great,  however,  was  his  tenacity  of  purpose 
and  determination  that  he  obtained  his  father's  unwilling 
consent  and  sailed  for  France  on  February  14,  191 7. 
His  father  has  written  of  him :  "Early  in  life  he  devel- 
oped qualities  which  indicated  that  he  thought  for  him- 
self, drew  his  own  conclusions,  and  was  true  to  his  con- 
victions  regardless  of  consequences." 

From  February  until  November,  191 7,  he  served  with 
the  American  Field  Service,  first  on  the  western  front,  as 
a  member  of  Section  Twelve,  and  later  with  Section 
Three  in  the  Orient.  Of  a  particularly  attractive  per- 
sonality,  —  popular,  daring,  and  with  many  choice 
friends,  —  he  quickly  made  a  place  for  himself  in  both 
Sections  as  the  following  quotation  from  one  of  his  com- 
panions proves :  "Unselfish,  generous  to  a  fault,  he  was 
truly  a  man  among  men  and  the  example  of  living  that 
he  set  helped  us  all." 

177 


WALLER  LISLE  HARRISON,  Junior 

When,  in  November,  he  was  released  from  the  Field 
Service  on  his  return  from  Albania,  his  greatest  desire 
was  to  be  accepted  in  the  Aviation  Service  of  the  Ameri- 
can Army.  Although  he  might  easily  have  returned  to 
America,  or  enlisted  in  some  other  branch  of  service  in 
France,  he  waited  for  six  long  weeks  for  his  application 
to  go  through,  working,  in  the  meantime,  at  such  odd 
jobs  as  he  could  find  in  Paris,  making  enough  to  buy  a 
scanty  allowance  of  food,  and  sleeping  on  the  floor,  with 
his  army  blankets  as  his  only  bed,  yet  never  for  a  moment 
regretting  his  decision  to  hold  out  for  aviation. 

He  was  the  type  of  lad  destined  to  serve  the  world  and 
he  served  it  to  his  utmost.  Not  only  did  he  give  his  ser- 
vice and  his  life  to  the  cause  for  which  his  country  was 
fighting,  but  more  than  this,  he  bequeathed  to  his  com- 
rades the  memory  of  a  character  and  personality  which 
must  always  be  an  inspiration  to  them.  As  one  of  them 
has  written  of  him :  "His  was  the  supreme  sacrifice  and 
such  a  man  was  he  that  he  met  it  as  only  a  gentleman 
and  a  good  soldier  could  meet  it,  for  that  was  Harry 
throughout  his  life.  His  memory  will  never  pass,  for  he 
was  chief  among  us  in  giving  the  true  conception  of  what 
real  life  is  like.  We  are  weighed  down  with  the  sadness 
of  his  passing,  but  such  was  the  man  and  such  the  cause 
for  which  he  died  that  the  sadness  can  be  only  for  the 
lonesomeness  we  feel.  He  has  shown  us  the  way,  the 
hardest  way  that  we  shall  ever  have  to  go,  and  with  the 
memory  of  his  graciousness  in  doing  his  duty,  our  duty 
seems  easy.'* 


178 


WALLER  LISLE  HARRISON,  Junior 

Born  July  12,  1896,  in  Lebanon,  Kentucky.  Son  of  Waller  Lisle  and  Mar- 
garet Dugan  Harrison.  Educated  Lebanon  High  School,  Louisville  Train- 
ing School,  and  Oberlin  College,  Class  of  19 19.  Joined  American  Field  Ser- 
vice, February  14,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Twelve  in  France  and  Three  in 
Balkans  to  November  6,  191 7.  Enlisted  U.S.  Aviation.  Commissioned 
Second  Lieutenant.  Killed  in  aeroplane  accident,  October  3,  19 18,  while 
training,  3d  Aviation  Instruction  Center,  Issoudun.  Buried  American  Cem- 
etery, Issoudun,  Indre. 


TINGLE  WOODS  CULBERTSON 

Born  January  15,  1886,  at  Echo  Point,  near  Wheeling,  West  Virginia.  Son 
of  John  D.  and  Sallie  T.  Culbertson.  Home,  Sewickley,  Pennsylvania. 
Educated  Hill  School,  Pottstown,  Pennsylvania,  and  Princeton  University, 
Class  of  191 1.  Business,  National  Tube  Company,  Pittsburgh.  Joined 
American  Field  Service,  March  11,  1916  ;  attached  Section  One  to  Novem- 
ber 16,  1916.  On  torpedoed  Sussex  en  route  to  France,  1916.  Returned  to 
America.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Infantry ;  trained  Fort  Niagara,  New  York. 
Commissioned  First  Lieutenant,  attached  318th  Regiment.  To  France  with 
80th  Division.  Killed  in  action,  October  4,  191 8,  near  Bois  des  Ogons, 
north  of  Nantillois,  Argonne.  Buried  American  Cemetery,  Romagne-sous- 
Montfaucon,  Meuse. 


TINGLE  WOODS  GULBERTSON 

"Truly  none  but  the  bravest  of  noble  men  could  have 
had  the  determination  and  the  physical  strength  and  the 
nerve  to  lead  a  front  platoon  into  what  he  knew  was 
awaiting  him  at  that  place/*  wrote  a  friend  of  "Ting" 
Culbertson,  describing  the  way  the  latter  led  his  com- 
pany up  Hill  274,  in  the  Meuse-Argonne  offensive,  Oc- 
tober 4,  1 91 8. 

In  that  advance  the  Lieutenant  was  killed,  but  his 
spirit  went  marching  on,  as  one  of  his  privates  testified 
in  the  following  words :  "Such  an  influence  as  the  Lieu- 
tenant had  cannot  end,  but  has  left  its  impress  on  every 
man,  and  his  name  will  be  on  the  tongues  of  our  children's 
children  for  what  he  meant  to  his  men." 

"Ting"  Culbertson  felt  the  full  force  of  the  principles 
for  which  he  fought.  Early  in  March,  191 6,  he  went  to 
France  to  join  the  Field  Service,  being  upon  the  Sussex 
when  she  was  torpedoed  in  the  Channel.  He  served  a 
year  with  Section  One  of  the  ambulance  service,  for  the 
most  part  in  the  long  battle  around  Verdun.  Culbertson 
returned  home  in  November  and  subsequently  went  into 
training  at  the  officers'  camp  at  Fort  Niagara.  Soon  he 
was  back  in  France  with  the  Eightieth  Division,  in  the 
318th  Regiment  of  Infantry. 

Major  J.  C.  Wise  has  described  graphically  the  battle 
in  which  Culbertson  lost  his  life,  in  a  letter  to  the  Lieu- 
tenant's parents : 

"At  5.45  A.M.  your  son  led  his  company's  advance 
platoon  against  the  enemy.  As  the  battalion  jumped  off, 
the  counter  barrage  fell  upon  us,  literally  tearing  the 
forward  platoon  to  shreds.  But  the  rear  wave  kept  on 
toward  the  Bois  des  Ogons.  Passing  over  a  gentle  crest, 
we  met  a  tremendous  barrage,  and  those  who  entered  the 
woods  were  unable  to  hold  their  ground,  falling  back  to 
the  crest.  Somewhere  between  the  crest  and  the  woods 
your  son  was  last  seen  advancing.  Of  my  sixteen  officers 
four  were  killed  and  nine  wounded. 

179 


TINGLE  WOODS  CULBERTSON 


"  I  consider  it  an  honor  to  have  commanded  your  son. 
I  shall  write  no  eulogy  of  his  character.  I  admired  him 
as  a  man,  trusted  him  as  an  officer,  liked  him  as  a  com- 
rade in  arms,  and  know  that  he  was  greatly  beloved  by 
his  fellow  officers  and  men.  Once  I  had  occasion  to  re- 
prove him  most  harshly.  His  bearing  was  what  it  should 
have  been  had  he  been  really  at  fault.  I  later  discovered 
that  he  assumed  knowingly  the  blame  due  his  company 
commander.  I  shall  regret  all  the  days  of  my  life  that 
an  opportunity  never  presented  itself  when  I  might  with- 
out prejudice  to  discipline  convey  my  amended  under- 
standing to  him." 

The  nonchalant  and  characteristic  attitude  Culbert- 
son  displayed  toward  discomforts  that  overtook  him  in 
war  is  evidenced  whimsically  in  the  following  extract 
from  one  of  his  letters :  "Turning  off  the  main  road  we 
took  a  trail  through  the  woods,  ankle  deep  with  mud. 
About  an  hour  before  daylight  we  reached  our  camping 
place.  I  rolled  up  in  a  blanket  under  a  tree.  It  was  cold 
and  water  was  coming  down  through  the  leaves,  but  I 
was  soon  asleep.  Trifle  wet  when  I  woke  up  in  the  morn- 
ing, but  that  was  a  usual  matter.  This  is  a  hard  outfit 
by  now  and  little  things  like  sleeping  on  wet  ground 
in  the  rain  have  long  ceased  to  trouble  us." 

In  the  letter  from  an  officer  in  the  same  company, 
Lieutenant  Fetters,  the  writer  said  that  the  men  of  Cul- 
bertson's  command  wept  when  informed  of  his  death. 
"They  lost  an  officer  who  had  endeared  himself  to  them 
during  their  period  of  training  by  his  personality  and 
conduct  and  had  inspired  them  during  combat  by  his 
leadership  and  personal  example." 


1 80 


PAUL  WARREN  LINDSLEY 

Paul  Warren  Lindsley  made  his  last  flight  at  Issoudun, 
France,  October  5th,  just  before  his  commission  as  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant  arrived,  which  would  have  entailed  the 
immediate  service  at  the  front  which  he  had  so  eagerly 
awaited. 

Just  five  months  from  the  day  he  had  enlisted  in  the 
air  service  his  name  was  inscribed  on  the  nation's  Roll  of 
Honor.  Returning  one  day  from  a  two-hour  flight,  his 
machine  suddenly  made  a  nose  dive  and  crashed  to  the 
ground.  The  cause  of  the  accident  was  never  learned, 
though  it  is  the  belief  of  some  that  he  fainted. 

Young  Lindsley,  then  only  twenty-one,  whose  life 
ended  so  abruptly  and  prematurely,  had  already  seen 
service  in  the  war.  He  left  the  United  States  in  May, 
191 7,  a  member  of  the  Marietta  College  Unit,  with  which 
he  served  six  months  in  France. 

His  term  of  enlistment  expiring,  Lindsley  joined  the 
American  Red  Cross,  then  in  need  of  help  to  carry  on  its 
work  behind  the  Italian  army,  at  that  particular  time 
the  principal  field  of  its  operations.  When  the  German- 
Austrian  onslaught  there  was  stopped,  Lindsley  secured 
his  release  and  went  south  to  Foggia,  where  many  Ameri- 
can aviators  were  training. 

Enlisting  there  on  May  5,  191 8,  he  was  soon  working 
for  a  chasse  pilot's  commission.  Here,  after  flying  but 
thirteen  times  with  an  instructor,  he  was  given  his  plane 
to  fly  alone,  thereby  lowering  the  camp  record  of  fifteen 
flights  with  an  instructor  before  solo  work. 

In  July  he  was  sent  to  Tours  in  France,  and  shortly 
afterwards  to  Issoudun  to  finish  his  training.  There,  just 
as  he  was  completing  his  hard  and  rapid  preparation,  he 
met  his  unfortunate  death. 

He  was  buried  near  the  great  American  aviation  camp 
at  Issoudun  with  full  military  honors.  Of  the  impressive 
ceremony.  Lieutenant  Ben  Putnam,  a  boyhood  friend  of 
young  Lindsley  from  Marietta,  wrote  his  parents :  "  I 

181 


PAUL  WARREN  LINDSLEY 


have  just  come  back  from  *SoV  Lindsley's  funeral.  I  was 
the  officer  of  the  funeral  and  since  the  day  of  his  death 
I  have  been  a  boy  with  a  broken  heart.  It  came  as  a 
mighty  blow  to  this  most  magnificent  of  all  flying  schools, 
where  deaths  are  a  common  occurrence,  when  the  game, 
jolly,  little  fellow  from  Ohio  was  called  upon  to  give  his 
life  for  his  country. 

"On  the  night  of  my  arrival  here,  among  the  first  to 
meet  me  was  Paul.  I  had  n*t  seen  him  for  almost  a  year. 
He  was  exactly  the  same  little  fellow,  a  real  man." 

Putnam  wrote  of  Lindsley's  courage  and  his  clean-cut 
devotion  to  duty,  that  it  was  the  same  which  his  school 
boy  chums  in  Marietta  High  School  and  Mercersburg 
Academy  had  known:  "You  can  tell  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lindsley  that,  standing  beside  the  grave  of  their  son, 
through  the  tears  that  I  could  n't  have  stopped  had  I 
tried,  I  uttered  a  vow,  and  that  with  God's  help  I'll 
carry  it  out.  No  son  can  give  more,  and  no  real  son  will 
ever  be  satisfied  until  he  has  made  the  same  sacrifice  or 
the  dark  mantle  of  war  is  lifted  from  this  country." 

The  "Marietta  Observer"  gives  the  early  history  of 
young  Lindsley  : 

"  Paul  Lindsley  was  bom  at  Pueblo,  Colorado,  and  when  a 
young  boy  he  came  with  his  parents  to  this  city  where  he  has 
since  made  his  home.  Clean,  energetic,  and  courageous,  he  was 
a  favorite  among  a  wide  circle  of  friends,  who  to-day  mourn 
his  death. 

"  He  attended  the  Marietta  High  School  and  afterwards  at- 
tended the  Mercersburg  Academy  in  Pennsylvania.  Paul  has 
made  the  supreme  sacrifice.  His  was  the  spontaneous  joy  of 
living,  and  his  influence  will  be  greatly  missed  by  those  who 
knew  and  loved  him." 


182 


PAUL  WARREN  LINDSLEY 

Born  June  9,  1897,  in  Pueblo,  Colorado.  Son  of  Charles  L.  and  Emma 
Bolard  Lindvsley.  Home,  Marietta,  Ohio.  Educated  Marietta  High  School 
and  Mercersburg  Academy,  Pennsylvania.  Banking  business.  Marietta. 
Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  26,  1917 ;  attached  Transport  Section 
184  to  November  20,  191 7.  Joined  American  Red  Cross  in  Italy.  Enlisted 
U.  S.  Aviation,  May  5,  19 18,  at  Foggia,  Italy.  Trained  there,  and  from 
July  at  Tours  and  Issoudun,  France.  Commission  arrived  three  days  after 
death.  Killed  in  aeroplane  accident  at  Issoudun,  October  5,  1918.  Buried 
American  Cemetery,  Issoudun,  Indre. 


FREDERIC  MOORE  FORBUSH 

Born  August  ii,  1896,  in  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan.  Son  of  F.  D.  and  Flor- 
ence Moore  Forbush.  Home,  Detroit,  Michigan.  Educated  Detroit 
Schools  and  Interlaken  School,  Indiana.  Business  with  U.  S.  Tire  Com- 
pany. Joined  American  Field  Service,  April  25,  1916;  attached  Section 
Eight  to  October  24,  1916.  Returned  to  America.  University  of  Vermont. 
Enlisted^U.  S.  Naval  Reserve.  Eleven  trips  to  France  on  U.  S.  S.  De  Kalb. 
Died  of  pneumonia,  October  6,  1918,  in  Philadelphia  hospital.  Body  cre- 
mated Jat  Detroit,  Michigan. 


FREDERIC  MOORE  FORBUSH 

Frederic  Forbush*s  home,  except  for  the  first  three 
years  of  his  life,  was  Detroit,  Michigan.  Here  he  spent 
most  of  his  school  days  and  here  he  worked  for  nine 
months  in  a  branch  of  the  U.  S.  Tire  Company,  prior  to 
his  departure  for  France.  His  mother  has  written  of  this 
period  of  his  life :  "He  was  just  the  average  happy,  ad- 
venturous, fun-loving  boy.  He  had  a  very  keen  sense  of 
humor  and  often  had  amusing  experiences  in  his  associa- 
tion with  all  types  of  men  and  boys.  He  made  friends 
easily  and  his  greatest  enjoyment  was  in  the  company 
of  his  many  boyhood  friends." 

In  the  early  spring  of  191 6  he  enlisted  in  the  American 
Field  Service  and  sailed  for  France  in  April.  The  Section 
to  which  he  was  assigned,  S.  S.  U.  8,  did  not  leave  for  the 
front  until  the  following  month  and  for  the  intervening 
weeks  he  was  quartered  in  the  American  Hospital  at 
Neuilly.  Here  he  first  saw  the  results  of  the  struggle 
which  France  was  making  and  a  letter  written  home  at 
the  time  shows  how  tenderly  he  reacted  to  it :  "I  re- 
ceived my  first  shock  of  war  yesterday  as  I  was  climbing 
the  stairs  to  my  dormitory.  A  French  soldier  was  de- 
scending and  his  face  was  the  most  terrible  thing  I  have 
ever  seen, —  all  twisted  and  creased  and  wrinkled,  and 
one  eye  and  ear  gone.  He  wore  the  Croix  de  Guerre,  and 
when  I  saluted  he  came  to  attention  and  gave  me  a  fine 
salute.  Just  that  one  short  glimpse  of  him  seemed  to  hit 
me  awfully  hard  and  when  I  got  to  the  dormitory  I  just 
had  to  bawl, —  I  could  n*t  help  it." 

His  Section  left  Paris  the  25th  of  May  and  first  took 
up  work  in  Champagne.  By  the  middle  of  June,  however, 
they  were  actively  engaged  in  the  Verdun  sector,  where 
they  remained  with  but  short  periods  of  rest  until  Sep- 
tember. Of  the  sort  of  work  Forbush  did  during  the 
summer,  the  following  letter,  written  by  his  Section 
commander  some  months  later,  is  sufficient  evidence  : 
"At  the  time  when  we  had  our  hardest  and  most  trying 

183 


FREDERIC  MOORE  FORBUSH 


work  at  Fort  Tavannes,  I  remember  him  as  being  one  of 
the  foremost  to  volunteer  for  any  particularly  hard  run. 
When  Keogh  was  hit,  our  one  casualty,  he  was  the  one 
to  volunteer  to  take  his  place  and  continue  the  run  at 
the  beginning  of  which  Keogh  was  wounded.  I  can  but 
say  that  I  am  awfully  sorry  to  see  him  leave." 

On  October  24,  191 6,  he  resigned  from  the  Field  Ser- 
vice and  returned  to  America.  Desire  to  be  near  his 
fiancee  prevented  him  from  carrying  out  his  original  in- 
tention of  returning  to  France  and  instead  he  entered 
the  University  of  Vermont  to  complete  his  education. 
When  war  was  declared  in  the  following  spring  he  enlisted 
immediately  in  the  Navy  and  on  the  De  Kalb,  formerly 
the  German  raider  Prinz  Eitel  Freidrich,  made  eleven 
round  trips  to  France.  Shortly  before  his  first  voyage  he 
was  married,  and  a  year  and  half  later  a  son  was  born 
who  bears  the  father's  name. 

He  died  at  Philadelphia,  October  6,  191 8,  of  pneu- 
monia, at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years,  but  in  his  life, 
short  as  it  was,  had  been  crowded  the  experiences  denied 
in  a  long  lifetime  to  many  older  men.  His  mother  has 
written  of  him  :  "Even  as  a  little  boy  he  was  of  the  fear- 
less, happy-go-lucky  type,  and  he  retained  those  char- 
acteristics, even  though  sobered  by  his  work  in  France, 
well  calculated  to  make  him  thoughtful.  He  expressed 
always  a  deep  admiration  and  love  for  France  and  a 
great  satisfaction  in  having  served  her, —  and  for  his 
own  dear  land  he  made  the  supreme  sacrifice." 


184 


KENNETH  ARMOUR  BAILEY 

Lieutenant  Kenneth  A.  Bailey,  i02d  Field  Artillery, 
began  his  military  career  with  the  American  Field  Ser- 
vice. He  enlisted  in  June,  191 7,  and  was  assigned  to 
Section  Seventy,  which  left  for  the  front,  July  15,  1917. 
After  a  summer  spent  in  the  recently  evacuated  country 
around  Noyon  and  in  active  participation  in  the  Battle 
of  Malmaison  on  the  Chemin  des  Dames,  he  was  trans- 
ferred with  most  of  the  personnel  of  this  Section  to 
S.  S.  U.  636  under  the  U.  S.  Army  Ambulance  Service. 
One  of  his  fellow  members  of  the  Section  writes  of  him 
in  the  American  Field  Service  Bulletin:  "*Biir  Bailey, 
as  we  always  called  him,  had  the  happy  faculty  of  mak- 
ing friends  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  We 
knew  him  as  one  who  could  be  depended  upon  to  do  his 
part  and  more,  whether  work  or  a  frolic  was  on  hand, 
and  we  remember  the  long  evenings  when  he  would  cheer 
the  barracks  with  his  large  stock  of  Scotch  songs.  These 
same  qualities  caused  him  to  be  known,  during  his  short 
career  in  the  artillery,  as  one  of  the  most  efficient  and 
popular  junior  officers  of  the  regiment.'* 

It  was  characteristic  of  " Bill"  that  he  never  grumbled, 
no  matter  what  the  hardship  or  task  might  be,  that  he 
could  be  always  counted  on  to  do  his  duty  and  more,  and 
that  nothing  ever  seemed  to  upset  or  quell  for  a  moment 
his  prevailing  good  humor  and  ready  wit.  He  was  ex- 
ceedingly popular  among  his  fellow  members  of  the  sec- 
tion and  held  from  the  beginning  the  deep  respect  and 
affection  of  his  officers. 

During  the  winter  of  191 7-1 8,  spent  in  the  Champagne 
Secteur  des  Monts,  "Bill"  began  to  turn  his  thoughts 
toward  a  combatant  branch  of  the  service.  As  he  wrote 
in  December,  after  seeing  the  heroic  work  of  the  French 
and  the  dastardly  work  of  the  Germans,  he  wanted 
"to  get  where  he  could  throw  things  at  Fritz  and  not 
pick  up  what  he  had  messed  up."  Much  of  his  spare 
time  when  en  repos  during  the  early  months  of  winter 

185 


KENNETH  ARMOUR  BAILEY 


while  others  of  his  comrades  were  amusing  themselves  as 
best  they  could,  he  devoted  to  studying  any  available 
text  book  he  could  procure  to  fit  himself  for  the  work  he 
had  in  view.  Nor  did  this  study  prevent  him  from  join- 
ing wholeheartedly  in  the  life  of  the  Section,  for  he  was 
an  excellent  all-round  good  fellow. 

In  April,  191 8,  he  was  recommended  for  the  American 
Officers'  Artillery  Training  School  at  Saumur,  France, 
and  received  the  appointment.  Here  he  made  rapid 
progress  and  was  graduated  with  honors,  receiving  his 
commission  as  Second  Lieutenant  on  July  10,  191 8.  Eight 
days  later  he  was  assigned  to  Battery  B  of  the  io:^d  Field 
Artillery  and  was  sent  immediately  into  position  near 
Chateau-Thierry.  From  then  until  his  death, —  he  was 
killed  in  action,  October  9,  1918, —  he  gave  himself  de- 
votedly to  his  chosen  work  and  took  part  in  some  of  the 
hardest  fights  of  that  memorable  summer.  One  tribute 
which  he  pays  to  his  fighting  countrymen  must  be  quoted  : 
"  I  never  in  the  wide  world  can  express  the  profound  re- 
spect I  have  for  the  American  doughboys.  They  have 
nothing  in  them  that  even  resembles  fear  and  are  as 
irresistible  as  a  forty-two  centimeter  shell.  My  hat  is  off 
to  a  doughboy  every  time.''  His  point  of  view  makes  it 
easy  to  understand  why  he  was  so  universally  liked  by 
the  men  under  him  and  what  his  loss  meant  to  both  his 
subordinates  and  superior  officers  in  the  Battery. 

Nowhere  did  the  news  of  his  death  come  with  a  greater 
shock  than  to  the  members  of  his  old  ambulance  section. 
We  who  had  known  him  well  as  a  soldier  and  a  comrade, 
knew  also  the  promise  which  life  held  for  him,  had  he 
lived,  and  not  one  of  us  but  has  since  faced  life  with  a 
little  more  determination,  and  a  little  more  desire  for 
real  service  and  self-sacrifice  because  of  his  example. 


186 


KENNETH  ARMOUR  BAILEY 

Born  February  28,  1896,  in  Newark,  New  Jersey.  Son  of  C.  Weston  and 
Sara  Armour  Bailey.  Home,  Glen  Ridge,  New  Jersey.  Educated  Peddie 
Institute,  New  Jersey,  and  Stevens  Institute  of  Technology.  Joined  Ameri- 
can Field  Service,  June  25,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Seventy.  Enlisted  U.  S. 
Army  Ambulance  Service,  Section  636.  April  i,  191 8,  transferred  Artil- 
lery Officers'  Training  School,  Saumur.  Commissioned  Second  Lieutenant, 
July  loth.  Attached  io2d  Field  Artillery,  July  i8th.  Killed  in  action,  Oc- 
tober 9,  1918,  near  Chiteau-Thierry.  Buried  American  Cemetery,  Thiau- 
court,  Meurthe-et-Moselle. 


WILLIAM  NOBLE  WALLACE 

Born  January  13,  1895,  in  Indianapolis,  Indiana.  Son  of  Henry  Lane  and 
Margaret  Noble  Wallace.  Educated  Hill  School,  Pottstown,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Yale  University,  Class  of  1917.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  June 
17,  T916;  attached  Section  One  to  November  27,  1916.  Returned  to 
America  and  College.  Enlisted  Marine  Corps,  July  5,  191 7.  Appointed 
Second  Lieutenant,  Quantico,  Virginia,  August  27th;  attached  34th  Com- 
pany, ist  Replacement  Battalion.  Sailed  for  France,  February,  1918. 
Army  School,  Gondrecourt ;  attached  French  Division  ;  attached  83d  Com- 
pany, 6th  Regiment,  June  11,  1918.  Wounded,  Vierzy,  July  19th.  Pro- 
moted First  Lieutenant,  September  6th.  Battalion  Scout  Officer.  Killed 
by  shell,  October  9,  1918,  in  action  near  St.  Etienne,  Champagne.  Buried 
between  St.  Etienne  and  Somme-Py,  Marne.  Body  transferred  to  Craw- 
fordsville,  Indiana. 


WILLIAM  NOBLE  WALLACE 

"He  bartered  Youth  for  Immortality/'  quoted  a  noted 
author  in  writing  of  his  young  friend,  William  Noble 
Wallace,  who  was  killed  in  action  near  St.  Etienne, 
Champagne,  carrying  high  that  standard  of  devotion 
which  guided  the  lives  of  his  ancestors.  The  first  of  his 
father's  family  in  America  was  Peter  Wallace,  Scotch- 
Irish,  who  immigrated  in  1724,  while  on  his  mother's 
side  was  General  Arthur  Sinclair,  who  came  from  Scot- 
land with  Admiral  Boscawen  in  1758.  His  grandfather 
was  General  Lew  Wallace,  the  Mexican  and  Civil  War 
soldier  and  author. 

"The  knightliest  of  the  knightly  race 
Who,  since  the  days  of  old, 
Have  kept  the  lamp  of  chivalry 
Alight  in  hearts  of  gold," 

"Such  was  this  dear  boy,"  continues  the  writer. 
"The  General  came  instantly  into  my  mind  when  the 
dark  news  came,  and  we,  who  know  the  fine  quality  of 
both,  may  ponder  how  the  elder  comrade  saluted  with 
fine  courtesy  the  Knight  of  his  own  house,  in  the  green 
valley  where,  beyond  these  voices,  there  is  Peace." 

Lieutenant  Wallace's  war  record  begins  with  his  en- 
listment in  the  American  Field  Service.  With  Section 
One  he  served  in  the  vicinity  of  Verdun  from  June  to 
late  November,  191 6.  Returning  to  the  United  States, 
he  secured  his  degree  of  A.  B.  with  his  class  at  Yale  in 
June,  191 7.  Graduating  from  the  Officers'  Training 
School  at  Quantico  in  November,  he  was  assigned  to  the 
1st  Replacement  Battalion  and  sailed  for  France  on  the 
U.  S.  S.  Von  Steuben.  His  organization  landed  at  Brest 
and  moved  immediately  to  the  training  area  near 
Chatillon. 

Wallace  graduated  from  the  ist  Army  Corps  School  at 
Gondrecourt  at  the  head  of  his  class,  which  allowed  him 
ten  days  at  the  front  with  a  French  Division.  On  return- 
ing he  served  as  Battalion  Adjutant  until  transferred  to 

187 


WILLIAM  NOBLE  WALLACE 


the  famous  6th  Regiment.  With  it  he  fought  through 
Chiteau-Thierry  and  Belleau  Wood.  On  July  19th,  while 
leading  his  men  in  the  attack  before  Vierzy  he  was 
wounded  and  evacuated,  but  rejoined  his  regiment  on 
October  7th. 

October  8th  his  company  was  withdrawn  for  replace- 
ments, but  Wallace  remained,  having  volunteered  to 
reconnoiter  the  front  line.  His  mission  accomplished  with 
great  skill  and  daring,  he  was  returning  in  the  early 
dawn,  when  he  was  struck  by  a  shell  and  instantly  killed. 
The  Distinguished  Service  Cross  and  Navy  Cross  were 
awarded  Wallace  for  "extraordinary  heroism  in  action" 
at  this  time.  At  the  moment  of  his  death  he  was  a  First 
Lieutenant,  having  been  promoted  September  6th,  but 
he  died  without  knowledge  of  this  recognition  of  his  ser- 
vice. His  ambulance  section  had  received  the  Croix  de 
Guerre  with  Palm  and  his  Marine  regiment  the  French 
fourragere. 

The  Indianapolis  Star  in  a  memorial  editorial  for 
Lieutenant  Wallace  said:  "'Whom  the  gods  love  die 
young.'    He  was  a  soldier  worthy  of  his  traditions  and  he 

had  the  fatal  speed  of  those  about  to  die  young 

that  absorption  of  a  lifetime  in  an  hour,  which  we  find 
in  those  who  hasten  to  have  their  work  done  before 
noon,  knowing  that  they  will  not  see  the  evening.  He 
carried  the  torch  borne  by  his  brave  ancestors,  and  did 
them  honor.  Friends  who  mourn  his  early  death  may 
cry,  *The  pity  of  it,'  but  if  he  echoed  in  his  heart  the 
poet's  wish,  'A  short  life  in  the  saddle.  Lord,  not  long 
life  by  the  fire,'  then  indeed  he  had  the  career  he 
wished." 


188 


WILLIAM  CLARKSON  POTTER 

It  seems  only  yesterday  that  Clarkson  Potter  came  to 
Headquarters  in  Paris  and  asked  if  he  could  not  get  to  the 
front  a  little  more  quickly  than  any  new  Field  Service 
man  had  ever  gotten  there  before.  He  explained  that 
he  had  just  finished  his  Freshman  year  at  Princeton, 
that  he  had  spent  about  half  his  life  in  France,  that  he 
had  his  parents'  permission,  and  that,  in  short,  "the  war 
had  been  going  on  long  enough  without  him.** 

So  he  was  sent  to  Section  One,  where  almost  immedi- 
ately he  became  known  as  "young  Potter."  Small,  slen- 
der, with  frank  eyes  and  a  boyish  laugh,  he  looked  hardly 
a  match  for  the  grim  work  of  war.  But  appearances  were 
misleading.  He  was  ready  to  drive  "anything  on 
wheels" ;  he  was  keen  to  tackle  any  sort  of  road,  and 
he  seemed  to  consider  skirting  shell  craters  on  a  black 
night  the  best  game  he  had  ever  played. 

He  remained  with  Section  One,  doing  good  work 
through  several  attacks,  until  December,  191 6,  when,  in 
order  to  be  with  some  close  friends,  he  asked  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  Norton-Harjes  Ambulance  Corps.  By  this 
time  he  was  a  seasoned  as  well  as  a  daring  driver.  "  Per- 
manently at  an  advanced  post,"  read  his  citation  for  the 
Croix  de  Guerre,  "Clarkson  Potter  made  eighteen  con- 
secutive trips  without  a  rest  in  thirty  hours  and,  in  spite 
of  the  bombardment  of  the  road  by  the  German  artil- 
lery, he  enabled  a  great  number  of  wounded  to  reap  the 
benefits  of  rapid  transport." 

In  August,  191 7,  he  enlisted  in  the  American  Air  Ser- 
vice as  a  cadet  and  was  sent  to  Tours  for  his  preliminary 
training.  Upon  finishing  his  course  and  receiving  a  First 
Lieutenant's  commission,  he  went  to  Clermont-Ferrand, 
where  he  was  given  advanced  instruction  as  a  bombing 
pilot,  and  in  September,  191 8,  he  was  assigned  to  the 
20th  Day  Bombing  Squadron. 

His  first  mission  was  to  take  part  in  a  daylight  raid 
over  Dun-sur-Meuse  on  September  26th,  the  first  day  of 

189 


WILLIAM  CLARKSON  POTTER 


the  great  Argonne  offensive.  Only  three  of  the  fourteen 
men  who  that  day  crossed  the  lines  with  him  returned. 
The  remaining  eleven,  including  **Phir'  Rhinelander,  a 
former  Field  Service  man  and  Potter's  best  friend,  were 
killed  or  brought  down  wounded  and  captured.  Lieu- 
tenant Howard,  the  Flight  Leader,  and  also  a  former 
Field  Service  man,  has  said  that  he  owed  his  escape  to 
Potter. 

**We  were  jumped,"  he  wrote  in  the  North  American 
Review  for  November,  1919,  *'just  after  the  bombing. 
Fokkers,  five  or  six,  came  from  behind,  a  second  group 
from  above,  and  a  third  from  in  front  and  below.  They 
came  out  of  peace  and  nothingness  and  were  on  us  in  an 
instant,  diving  through  and  flying  as  part  of  our  forma- 
tion. Bullets  hit  my  plane  as  though  somebody  had  been 
peppering  me  with  a  handful  of  gravel.  I  believe  I  should 
have  given  up  and  tried  a  landing,  had  not  Potter  stuck. 
And  how  he  stuck !  And  in  the  end,  when  we  did  get 
back,  three  out  of  fourteen,  one  team  and  a  half  out  of 
seven,  Potter  was  as  cool  as  —  I  have  no  simile." 

For  his  work  that  day  Potter  was  given  the  D.  S.  C. 
"By  his  courage  and  disregard  of  danger,"  read  the  cita- 
tion in  General  Orders,  *' Lieutenant  Potter  saved  the 
life  of  his  leader  and  brought  his  machine  safely  back  to 
our  lines." 

But  he  did  not  live  to  receive  this  honor.  He  was 
struck,  October  loth,  by  an  ** Archie"  while  over  the 
German  lines  at  a  height  of  eleven  thousand  feet.  He 
was  seen  to  turn  and  start  gliding  towards  the  American 
trenches,  but,  at  about  six  hundred  feet,  he  apparently 
encountered  a  strong  German  barrage  which  riddled  his 
plane  with  bullets  and  killed  both  him  and  Lieutenant 
Wilmer,  his  observer. 


190 


WILLIAM  CLARKSON  POTTER 

Born  July  31,  1896,  in  Dinard,  France,  Son  of  Clarkson  and  Mathilde 
Allien  Potter.  Home,  Paris,  France.  Educated  Wixenford  Preparatory  and 
Harrow  Schools,  England,  and  Princeton  University,  Class  of  1919.  Joined 
American  Field  Service,  June  10,  1916  ;  attached  Section  One  until  Decem- 
ber 10,  1916.  Joined  Norton-Harjes  Ambulance  Corps.  Croix  de  Guerre. 
Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation,  August,  1917.  Trained  Tours,  Issoudun,  and  Cler- 
mont-Ferrand. Commissioned  First  Lieutenant,  November,  191 7.  Sep- 
tember, 19 1 8,  attached  20th  Day  Bombing  Squadron.  D.  S.  C.  Killed  in 
action  over  lines,  near  Dun-sur-Meuse,  October  loth,  1918.  Buried  by 
Germans  at  Barricourt,  Ardennes,  near  Stenay.  Body  transferred  to 
Suresnes,  Seine. 


LEON  HENTON  DONAHUE 

Born  September  22,  1895,  in  Holyoke,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Archibald 
and  Maude  Donahue.  Home,  Gloucester,  Massachusetts.  Educated 
Gloucester  High  School,  Class  of  19 16.  Business,  and  Arkansas  Law  School, 
Little  Rock,  Arkansas.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  September  13, 
191 7;  attached  Section  Sixty-six,  which  became  Section  623  U.  S.  A. 
Ambulance  Service.  Died  of  pneumonia,  October  12,  1918,  at  Clermont- 
Ferrand.  Buried  American  Cemetery,  Clermont-Ferrand,  Puy-de-Dome. 
Body  transferred  to  Gloucester,  Massachusetts. 


LEON  HENTON  DONAHUE 

Leon  Donahue's  mother  writes  of  him:  "Leon  was 
gifted  with  an  unusually  happy  disposition/'  And  it  is 
this  quality  which  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  key- 
notes of  his  character.  During  his  early  days  in  the 
Gloucester  High  School  his  teachers  always  knew  where 
to  look  for  the  source  of  any  joke  or  amusing  episode 
which  transpired,  and  it  was  the  principal  himself  who 
gave  him  the  name  of  "Eternal  Donahue"  by  which  he 
was  known  throughout  his  school  years.  There  was 
nothing  the  least  bit  malicious  about  his  fun-making, 
nor  did  it  prevent  his  winning  the  sincere  respect  and 
affection  of  his  teachers  and  fellow  students  through  his 
earnest  work  in  the  various  school  activities. 

On  completing  his  high  school  course,  in  June,  191 6, 
he  determined  to  go  west  and  after  visiting  several  cities 
he  at  last  located  in  Little  Rock,  Arkansas.  Here  he 
obtained  employment  with  The  Wear  Ever  Aluminum 
Company  and  at  the  same  time  attended  Arkansas  Law 
School.  He  spent  a  busy  and  profitable  winter,  but  in 
the  following  spring,  when  war  with  Germany  seemed 
imminent,  he  wrote :  "It  looks  like  war  and  I  feel  as  if 
I  must  come  back  and  enlist  from  my  own  State.  I  can 
not  keep  my  mind  on  work, —  my  thoughts  are  all  of 
war.''  He  returned  to  Gloucester,  full  of  enthusiasm, 
to  find  that  he  could  not  pass  the  physical  examination 
owing  to  the  fact  that  he  was  under  weight  and  of  rather 
a  frail  constitution.  After  a  heart-breaking  summer  in 
which  he  tried  without  success  to  enlist  in  various 
branches  of  the  service,  he  was  at  last  accepted  as  a  vol- 
unteer in  the  American  Field  Service. 

He  arrived  in  Paris  late  in  September,  just  as  the  Field 
Service  was  being  taken  over  by  the  American  Army, 
and  enlisting  in  the  U.  S.  Army  Ambulance  Service,  was 
assigned  to  S.  S.  U.  623.  With  his  Section  he  took  an 
active  part  in  the  offensive  on  the  Chemin  des  Dames 
during  the  fall  and  early  winter  of  191 7,  and  in  the  de- 

191 


LEON  HENTON  DONAHUE 


fensive  operations  of  the  Aisne  in  the  following  spring. 
His  unfailing  good  humor  and  general  adaptability  made 
him  exceedingly  popular  with  his  comrades.  As  one  of 
them  wrote:  "He  could  do  anything  from  filling  the 
cook's  place,  when  needed,  to  entertaining  us  with  his 
mandolin."  And  another  said  of  his  work:  "I  have 
often  admired  him  for  his  courage,  his  straightforward- 
ness, and  the  way  he  thought  continually  of  those  back 
home.  Leon  was  manly  to  the  core.  I  well  remember 
how  one  day  up  near  Soissons,  he  volunteered  to  go  to  a 
poste^  the  road  leading  to  which  was  covered  by  German 
machine-gun  fire,  not  to  speak  of  artillery ;  also  how 
another  time  he  carried  food  to  us  up  past  places  which 
were  close  to  and  in  plain  sight  of  the  Germans." 

During  the  course  of  the  offensive  in  Champagne  in 
September,  191 8,  he  fell  ill  with  influenza  and  was  evac- 
uated through  various  hospitals  to  Clermont-Ferrand. 
Here  he  died  of  pneumonia  on  October  12,  191 8,  and  his 
body  was  buried  in  the  army  cemetery  at  that  place.  In 
his  last  letter  home  he  wrote  of  some  of  his  friends  who 
had  been  killed  in  service  :  "  It's  sad  to  see  so  many  of  our 
fine  young  men  giving  up  their  lives,  but  we  must  expect 
to  suffer  as  France  and  England  have  suffered,  and  are 
suffering  now."  It  was  in  this  spirit  that  he  faced  death, 
glad  to  take  his  share  of  the  burden  whatever  it  might  be. 
And  as  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends  has  said:  **I 
hope  when  I  die  that  I  will  leave  behind  me  as  clean  a 
record  as  Leon's." 


192 


GEORGE  MERRICK  HOLLISTER 

"In  him  I  seem  to  see  my  dearest  ideals  realized.  What 
strength  and  vision,  what  health  and  vigor  of  mind  and 

body his  genuineness  a  constant  spur  to  those 

near  him "  These  words  which  to  us  so  well  de- 
scribe George  Merrick  Hollister,  he  wrote  of  his  young 
brother.  They  express  something  of  what  he  felt  a  youth 
should  be,  and  as  accurately,  although  he  could  not  know 
it,  the  feeling  which  his  many  friends  had  for  him. 
Though  visioning  deeply  he  never  preached ;  his  conduct 
bespoke  the  stalwartness  of  the  high  personal  ideals  he 
held.  He  was  modest  and  unselfish,  withal  the  most 
humanly  alive  person  imaginable.  His  was  the  simplicity, 
the  lack  of  all  pretense,  which  is  the  heritage  of  great 
souls.  He  saw  nothing  of  beauty  or  heroism  in  his  own 
manner  of  facing  actualities,  but  the  example  of  his  life 
and  death  has  left  us  a  guide  to  cherish  forever. 

In  1908  George  came  east  from  Michigan  a  frail, 
lonely  lad,  but  eight  years  later  was  at  Harvard,  strong 
in  body,  rich  in  friendships,  and  having  made  an  enviable 
success,  when,  in  the  middle  of  his  sophomore  year,  he 
went  quietly  away  to  drive  the  Middlesex  ambulance 
in  the  American  Field  Service.  With  veteran  Section 
Three  his  youth  and  zest,  his  reliability  and  unfailing 
good  humor  made  George  both  loved  and  admired.  Yet 
all  he  experienced  impressed  him  deeply.  "It  is  hard  to 
say  what  the  last  two  weeks  have  meant  to  me,"  he 

wrote  after  the  first  Battle  of  Verdun,  " to  see 

all  that  is  finest  in  Ufe  and  all  that  is  most  damnable. 
....  Now,  with  it  safely  over,  life  takes  on  a  new 
glorious  splendor.  I  do  not  even  try  to  explain  to  myself 
why  my  share  seems  done,  probably  it  is  not.  ,  .  .  .'* 
His  share  was  not  done ;  his  future  held  yet  much  of  ser- 
vice, of  suffering,  and  of  sacrifice. 

After  more  than  a  year  as  a  volunteer  driver,  George 
returned  and  secured  a  lieutenancy  in  America,  going 
back  to  France  with  the  6ist  Infantry  as  Scout  Officer, 

193 


GEORGE  MERRICK  HOLLISTER 


where,  "the  best  known  officer  in  the  Brigade,"  he  was 
loved  and  trusted  as  are  few  miHtary  leaders. 

On  October  13th  in  the  woods  near  Cunel,  having  lo- 
cated some  Boche  positions  under  a  raking  fire,  George 
was  killed  by  a  shell.  Perhaps  the  words  in  all  the  trib- 
utes to  his  memory  which  he  himself  would  most  have 
cherished  are  those  of  his  orderly,  a  Greek,  Nickolas 
Gouzoulis,  "good  soldier  and  good  citizen.*' 

" He  was  my  officer and  wherever  he 

would  like  to  go,  he  had  always  use  to  take  me  with  him 
for  I  was  a  sniper,  also  a  confidential  friend  to  him. 

....  George  got  severely  wounded he  call  me 

and  I  crawls  over  and  sees  him  in  bad  condition 

He  don't  last  long  for  he  died  in  my  arms I  wish 

you  will  be  more  than  proud,  for  you  had  a  son  with 
plenty  of  courage  and  nerve,  in  fact,  he  was  one  of  the 
best  officers  I  have  ever  seen  since  I  have  been  in  France." 

Lieutenant  Considine's  story  completes  the  picture  of 
how  George  Hollister  was  beloved.  "  I  had  what  was  left 
of  the  Scouts  George  commanded,  take  both  bodies  to 
the  southern  edge  of  the  wood  and  the  exhausted  men 

began  to  dig  a  grave Ordered  back,  the  last  thing 

we  did  before  leaving  that  shell-torn  strip  was  to  wrap 
the  bodies  of  those  two  friends  in  blankets,  and  with 
bared  heads  and  a  prayer  we  buried  them  not  far  from 

where  they  fell It  was  quite  dark  when  we  left 

after  putting  wild  flowers  over  them,  and  the  remnants 
of  two  companies  with  exhausted  bodies  and  aching 
hearts  left  to  their  last  rest  two  of  the  finest,  coolest,  and 
most  courageous  officers  who  ever  faced  and  accepted 
death  for  our  Flag." 


194 


GEORGE  MERRICK  HOLLISTER 

Born  April  23,  1896,  in  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan.  Son  of  Clay  Harvey  and 
Justina  Merrick  Hollister.  Educated  Middlesex  School  and  Harvard 
University,  Class  of  19 18.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  February  25, 
1916;  attached  Section  Three  in  France  and  Balkans  to  May  9,  1917. 
Croix  de  Guerre.  Returned  to  America.  Army  Service  School,  July.  U.  S. 
Infantry,  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  November.  Commissioned  Second 
Lieutenant,  February  25,  1918;  attached  6ist  Infantry,  Camp  Greene, 
North  Carolina.  Sailed  for  Brest,  April  15,  1918.  Attached  137th  French 
Division,  to  August ;  Battalion  Scout  Officer,  61st  Regiment.  Killed  by 
shell,  October  12,  1918,  in  action  east  of  Cunel,  at  Bois-de-Forte,  and  bur- 
ied there.  Cited,  sth  U.  S.  Division.  Body  transferred  to  Argonne  American 
Cemetery,  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 


GILBERT  ROBERTSON  GLORIEUX 


Born  January  4,  1896,  in  Irvington,  New  Jersey.  Son  of  William  L.  and 
Jean  Robertson  Glorieux.  Educated  Newark  Academy  and  Princeton  Uni- 
versity, Class  of  1917.  Plattsburg  Camp,  1916.  Joined  American  Field 
Service,  May  26,  1917 ;  attached  Section  Nine  to  November  5,  1917. 
Returned  to  America  in  November.  Enlisted  as  Private,  U.  S.  Field  Artil- 
lery. Trained  at  Camp  Jackson.  Died  of  pneumonia  while  a  candidate  at 
Officers'  Training  School,  Camp  Taylor,  Kentucky,  on  October  13,  1918. 
Buried  in  Clinton  Cemetery,  Irvington,  New  Jersey. 


GILBERT  ROBERTSON  GLORIEUX 

Nothing  more  clearly  shows  the  spirit  of  Gilbert  Rob- 
ertson Glorieux  than  his  declining,  while  still  a  private, 
to  take  up  topographical  work  which  would  have  led  to 
a  commission  and  instructorship,  in  America.  His  heart 
was  set  upon  a  speedy  return  to  France  and  nothing  less 
would  satisfy  him.  He  had  gone  over  in  May,  1917,  with 
a  Princeton  unit  of  the  American  Field  Service  after 
being  turned  down  for  Aviation,  and  joined  Section 
Nine,  then  in  the  field  near  Pont-a-Mousson,  when  it  won 
a  citation  for  its  voluntary  work  during  air  raids.  After 
serving  at  the  front  he  felt  that  the  soldier  was  as  humane 
as  the  surgeon,  and  came  home  to  enlist  in  the  American 
army. 

Gilbert  grew  up  in  Irvington,  New  Jersey.  At  school 
he  "did  just  the  things  a  boy  would  do;  but  always, 
from  earliest  boyhood  days  was  he  noted  for  absolute 
truthfulness."  He  read  widely  and  was  a  popular  mem- 
ber of  several  clubs  at  college.  He  sang  in  the  choir  at 
Princeton  and  was  always  keenly  interested  in  athletics. 
Although  of  too  slight  a  build  for  football  or  crew,  he  was 
the  school's  best  man  on  "gym"  and  track  teams.  His 
never  failing  and  whimsical  courtesy  is  a  thing  that  older 
people  remember  best ;  and  to  his  contemporaries  the 
idealism,  and  intolerance  of  wrong  that  carried  him  into 
the  war  and  kept  him  in  the  army  later  against  such  odds 
of  ill  health,  is  memorable.  He  had,  too,  a  rare  twist  of 
humor,  and  a  keen  penetration  that  gave  him  especial 
charm,  and  made  his  companionship  a  thing  to  cherish. 

After  his  return  from  France  he  succeeded  in  joining 
aviation,  but  collapsed  the  first  day  at  camp  and  was 
sent  home.  For  several  months  he  nursed  a  heart  nearly 
twice  normal  size.  Flying  school  was  now  out  of  the 
question,  so  as  soon  as  he  improved  sufficiently,  Gilbert 
joined  the  Field  Artillery.  His  own  high  sense  of  duty 
made  Gilbert  choose  the  hardest  path.  During  the  first 
week  of  his  convalescence,  he  wrote,  in  a  letter  to  a 

195 


GILBERT  ROBERTSON  GLORIEUX 

friend:  "It  is  not  entirely  patriotism  that  makes  me 
want  to  go  —  but  I  have  been  out  to-day  looking  at  the 
beauty  of  our  old  oaks,  in  a  cluster,  waving  in  the  clean 
wind  against  the  blue  sky.  I  made  friends  with  a  spar- 
row and  some  bobolinks  that  balanced  on  spears  of 
grass,  and  met  a  great  cock  pheasant  breasting  his  way 
through  the  grass  like  a  swimmer  through  the  waves,  his 
gay  feathers  shining  and  his  red  crest  bobbing.  Beauty 
and  Love  and  Truth  and  Peace,  are  the  reasons  I  want  to 
go  back,  I  should  have  to  go,  you  see,  whether  we  were 
in  the  war  or  not." 

He  worked  hard  at  Camp  Jackson  through  the  exces- 
sive heat  of  June  and  July,  and  wrote  that  he  "expected 
soon  to  be  able  to  carry  a  cannon  under  each  arm  with 
comparative  ease."  In  August  he  was  sent  to  the  officers' 
training  camp  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  his  captain 
said  of  him,  "I  considered  him  one  of  the  best  men  in 
my  organization  for  a  commission."  There  were  times 
when  he  longed  to  be  back  in  France  as  a  private,  and 
times  when  his  heart  "objected,"  as  he  put  it,  to  the 
exhausting  work.  He  was  able,  however,  to  keep  up  until 
a  few  weeks  before  he  would  have  received  his  commis- 
sion, when  he  fell  ill,  this  time  with  influenza,  and  worn 
out  with  the  intensive  training,  developed  pneumonia. 
Just  as  he  died  he  said,  "I  wish  I  could  tell  you  how 
wonderful  it  is,  but  it 's  so  hard  to  make  you  understand 
—  The  roll,  the  roll  of  honor!" 


196 


MERRILL  MANNING  BENSON 

After  a  year  and  a  half  of  hardship  and  splendid  service 
in  the  course  of  which  occurred  the  accident  that  ren- 
dered him  unfit  for  further  action, —  as  he  sailed  west- 
ward with  his  heart  full  of  the  joy  of  home-coming,  Mer- 
rill Manning  Benson  was  suddenly  stricken  by  pneu- 
monia and  died  on  the  morning  of  the  day  he  would  have 
landed  in  America.  It  was  in  September,  191 8,  that 
the  doctors  decided  to  send  him  back  from  France  on 
account  of  an  injured  knee,  and  October  saw  him  safely 
installed  on  the  Leviathan, —  homeward  bound.  But 
his  weakened  condition  left  him  helpless  before  the  dis- 
ease that  crept  upon  him,  and  though  he  fought  bravely 
with  a  dogged  unwillingness  to  acknowledge  defeat  so 
near  to  home  and  happiness,  early  on  October  i6th  his 
spirit  slipped  silently  away.  Five  years  earlier  a  boy 
had  been  carried  off  a  football  field  protesting  wildly  — ■ 
though  white  with  the  pain  of  a  wrenched  ankle  —  at 
not  being  allowed  to  finish  the  game.  Likewise  in  191 8, 
Merrill  was  being  sent  home  out  of  the  "game"  against 
his  will.  And  as  he  would  have  preferred  to  have  been 
back  in  France  sharing  their  hardships  so  we  know  that 
he  is  well  content  to  rest  with  those  other  brave  spirits 
who  had  the  good  fortune  —  denied  him  —  to  die  in 
battle. 

At  the  Sterling  High  School  in  Illinois  where  Merrill 
spent  four  of  the  fullest  and  happiest  years  of  his  life,  he 
was  one  of  the  leaders.  He  played  football  and  ran  on 
the  track  team  and  was  active  in  the  literary  and  social 
activities  of  the  school, —  giving  to  everything  the  very 
best  that  was  in  him.  Mechanics  absorbed  a  great  part 
of  his  attention  and  he  early  displayed  a  natural  aptitude 
for  the  science.  When,  in  the  spring  of  191 7  he  learned 
of  the  work  of  the  American  Field  Service  while  casting 
about  for  some  means  of  offering  his  services  to  his 
country,  he  was  immediately  attracted  by  the  oppor- 
tunity it  presented  for  the  practical  application  of  his 

197 


MERRILL  MANNING  RENSON 


mechanical  ability  and  knowledge.  So  on  July  23d,  he 
sailed  for  France,  happy  in  the  realization  of  his  hopes 
and  eager  to  make  actual  offering  of  his  loyalty  and 
patriotism.  With  many  of  his  fellows  he  chose  the 
camion  branch  of  the  Field  Service  which  at  that  time 
presented  a  quicker  and  surer  means  of  getting  into 
action,  and  was  sent  out  to  Section  526,  after  a  few  weeks 
at  the  well-remembere  d  training  camp  at  Chavigny. 
He  fell  easily  into  the  work,  tackling  all  jobs  that  came 
his  way  —  were  they  pleasant  or  not  —  with  zest  that 
was  characteristic  of  him.  He  was  an  expert  driver  and 
his  professional  services  as  a  person  acquainted  with  the 
whims  and  ills  of  gas  engines  were  continually  in  demand. 
In  October  he  was  transferred  to  the  American  army 
as  a  member  of  the  Mallet  Reserve,  being  sent  shortly 
after  as  an  instructor  to  a  motor  transport  school.  He 
was  eager,  however,  to  get  back  to  his  old  friends  and  the 
life  he  loved,  and  spring  found  him  at  the  front  again. 
The  last  letter  received  from  him  was  dated  September 
5,  191 8,  and  was  the  first  in  six  weeks  so  it  is  probable 
that  he  spent  the  intervening  time  in  a  hospital,  though 
in  his  desire  to  save  worry  on  the  part  of  his  parents,  he 
made  no  reference  to  his  accident  and  even  now  it  is  not 
known  just  how  it  happened.  Quietly,  uncomplainingly, 
he  accepted  his  fate  and  when  the  biggest  demand  was 
made  upon  him  we  know  he  met  it  quite  simply,  like  a 
soldier. 


198 


MERRILL  MANNING  BENSON 

Born  July  i6,  1895,  in  Sterling,  Illinois.  Son  of  William  P.  and  Alice  Man- 
ning Benson.  Educated  Sterling  High  School,  University  of  Illinois,  and 
University  of  Wisconsin,  Class  of  1919.  Joined  American  Field^Service 
July  23,  1917;  attached  Transport  Section  526.  Transferred  to  Reserve 
Mallet,  U.  S.  Motor  Transport  Corps,  October,  191 7.  Sailed  for  America, 
with  injured  knee,  October,  1918.  Died  at  sea  of  pneumonia,  October  16, 
1918.   Buried  in  Sterling,  Illinois. 


WILBUR  LeROY  BOYER 


Born  March  6,  1894,  in  Muskegon,  Michigan.  Son  of  Harry  Nelson  and 
Elizabeth  Downing  Boyer.  Home,  Chicago,  Illinois.  Educated  Orchard 
Lake  Military  Academy,  Cornell,  and  Leland  Stanford  Universities,  one 
year  each.  Brokerage  in  Chicago.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  Febru- 
ary 14,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Four  to  August  29,  191 7.  Enlisted  French 
Artillery ;  Artillery  School,  Tank  Service,  near  Paris.  Lost  eye,  premature 
shell-explosion.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Returned  to  America.  Torpedoed  on 
Antilles,  April,  1918.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Tank  Corps,  physical  examination 
waived.  First  Lieutenant.  In  charge.  Machine  Gun  School,  Camp  Colt 
Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania.  Died  at  home  in  Washington,  D.  C,  on  leave, 
October  19,  1918,  of  influenza.  Buried  in  National  Cemetery,  Arlington, 
Virginia. 


WILBUR  LeROY  BOYER 

There  is  always  an  added  glory  to  the  achievements  of 
a  lad  whose  health  is  none  too  robust,  and  such  was  the 
case  with  Wilbur  Boyer.  He  entered  Cornell  Uni- 
versity with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  civil  engineer^ 
but  after  two  years  was  compelled  to  abandon  the  idea. 
As  his  mother  has  written  :  "  Physically  he  was  unfit  for 
a  career  as  civil  engineer,  as  he  had  a  bad  leakage  of  the 
heart  from  early  boyhood,  a  fact  he  never  admitted  until 
his  last  illness." 

After  leaving  college  he  was  employed  for  a  time  in  a 
broker^s  office  in  Chicago,  until,  in  February,  191 7,  he 
was  accepted  as  a  driver  in  the  American  Field  Service. 
At  the  end  of  his  six  months*  enlistment  period,  during 
which  time  he  served  with  Section  Four  on  the  Verdun 
and  Champagne  fronts  with  remarkable  energy  and  de- 
votion, he  entered  a  French  Artillery  School  near  Paris. 
Here  he  was  progressing  rapidly  in  the  tank  service,  as 
etudiant  conducteur  d'un  tracteur  blinde  when  the  pre- 
mature explosion  of  a  gun  resulted  in  the  loss  of  his  left 
eye.  Although  badly  wounded  Boyer  shoWed  the  great- 
est courage  and  presence  of  mind  in  extinguishing  the 
resulting  conflagration  and  carrying  his  Lieutenant  to 
safety.  For  this  he  was  awarded  the  Croix  de  Guerre 
with  a  splendid  citation.  He  was  on  board  the  Antilles, 
on  his  way  home  to  recuperate,  when  the  vessel  was  tor- 
pedoed and  sunk.  He  was  picked  up  and  carried  back 
to  France  and  later  sailed  on  the  St.  Louis. 

A  friend  of  his  mother's  wrote  of  him,  shortly  after  his 
return:  "I  was  in  his  confidence  during  the  year  in 
which  he  put  forth  every  effort  to  be  accepted  for  service 
in  France.  He  showed  at  this  time  the  greatest  per- 
severance and  singleness  of  purpose  until  he  succeeded. 
During  his  months  in  service  I  heard  from  him  frequently 
and  I  was  amazed  at  his  powers  of  observation  and  his 
startlingly  concise  way  of  presenting  facts.  On  his  re- 
turn he  showed  two  characteristics  which  are  typical, — 

199 


WILBUR  LeROY  BOYER 


he  talked  very  little  and  was  very  conservative  when  he 
did  make  statements.  He  said  to  me :  *  I  cannot  talk 
about  what  I  do  not  know,  and  what  is  the  use  of  end- 
lessly repeating  what  you  have  only  heard.'  He  is  a 
student  and  reads  constantly  the  best  books.  His  power 
of  concentration  is  remarkable.  I  have  seen  him  sit  for 
hours  intent  upon  his  reading,  utterly  oblivious  to  the 
conversation  going  on  around  him.  He  is  quiet  and 
dignified,  but  is  gifted  with  that  keen  sense  of  humor 
which  relieves  trying  situations  and  makes  men  good 
companions." 

In  April,  191 8,  while  still  suffering  from  the  effects  of 
his  service  in  France,  he  had  himself  inducted  into  the 
service  after  much  difficulty.  Men  were  needed,  how- 
ever, with  his  knowledge  of  tanks  and  machine  guns,  so 
that  a  physical  examination  was  waived.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  on  October  19,  191 8,  he  was  serving  as  a  First 
Lieutenant  in  the  Tank  Corps,  in  charge  of  a  machine 
gun  school  at  Camp  Colt,  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania. 
He  had  gone  home  to  Washington  on  a  five  days'  leave, 
when  he  was  taken  ill  with  influenza  and  died. 

Undaunted  by  ill  health  and  wounds,  Wilbur  Boyer's 
one  idea  had  been  to  serve  his  country  to  the  utmost  re- 
gardless of  the  consequences  to  himself.  No  simpler  or 
finer  tribute  could  sum  up  his  life  than  the  words  of  his 
mother :  "He  was  all  I  had,  but  he  fought  the  good  fight, 
lived  his  young  life  to  the  full,  and  was  not  afraid." 


200 


DANFORTH  BROOKS  FERGUSON 

While  studying  in  Paris  in  19 14  Danforth  Brooks  Fer- 
guson of  New  York  City  first  became  involved  in  the 
World  War.  From  that  time  until  he  finally  gave  his 
life  on  October  20,  191 8,  except  for  a  short  visit  home  to 
the  United  States  in  191 7,  Ferguson's  career  forms  a  par- 
agraph in  the  story  of  American  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
France  and  Civilization. 

**One  cannot  be  in  Paris  without  feeling  and  seeing  the 
wonderful  spirit  of  national  heroism  which  is  holding  this 
country  up,"  he  wrote  to  a  friend  shortly  before  he  en- 
listed in  Section  Two  of  the  American  Ambulance  Field 
Service  early  in  19 15. 

Inspired  by  that  expression  of  staunchness  at  which  so 
many  Americans  later  marvelled,  he  served  with  Section 
Two  in  the  region  of  Bois-le-Pretre  and  Pont-a-Mousson 
where  he  and  his  fellows  did  remarkable  service. 

Ferguson  thoroughly  enjoyed  his  work  with  the  French, 
being  imbued  with  a  high  sense  of  devotion  to  the 
cause.  According  to  his  comrades,  while  not  having 
performed  any  spectacular  feats,  his  part,  however  small, 
was  done  always  with  a  good  feeling  which  showed  that 
his  heart  was  in  his  work. 

"I'm  out  here  now  doing  a  man's  work,"  he  wrote. 
"While  we  don't  get  into  a  great  deal  of  danger,  at  least 
we  can  feel  that  we  who  have  had  the  good  fortune  to 
have  lived  and  studied  in  France  can  in  a  small  measure 
repay  her.  And  when  the  United  States  finally  comes 
in  to  help  La  Belle  France,  perhaps  the  entente  cordiale 
of  these  few  ambulance  sections  will  help  tlie  good  feeling 
along." 

In  another  Itetter  he  said,  "I  carried  forty  wounded 
today  and  am  dead  tired.  Perhaps  a  great  many  of  the 
wounded  won't  live  for  more  than  a  few  hours,  poor  fel- 
lows." 

Danforth  Ferguson  was  born  on  February  28,  1895. 
A  large  part  of  his  education  he  received  at  the  Har- 

201 


DANFORTH  BROOKS  FERGUSON 


Strom's  Tutoring  School.  He  went  to  Paris  to  study 
early  in  19 14  and  was  caught  in  the  backwash  of  the  war 
at  its  opening  stages.  He  remained  in  Paris  until  he 
enlisted  in  an  ambulance  section  in  the  spring  of  191 5. 
During  the  summer  of  that  year  he  was  stricken  with 
pneumonia  from  which  his  convalescence  and  recovery 
required  many  months.  He  subsequently  came  back 
to  this  country  for  a  short  time  but  returned  to  France, 
enlisting  as  a  private  in  the  Coast  Artillery.  He  was 
attached  to  Battery  A  of  the  426.  Coast  Artillery 
when  he  died  a  victim  of  influenza  on  October  20,  191 8. 
His  body  rests  in  the  little  burial  ground  at  Dannemarie. 


202 


DANFORTH  BROOKS  FERGUSON 

Born  February  28,  1895,  in  New  York  City.  Son  of  Farquhar  and  Juliana 
Armour  Ferguson.  Educated  Harstrom's  Tutoring  School,  New  York,  and 
in  Paris.  Joined  American  Ambulance,  France,  October,  1914.  Joined 
American  Field  Service,  April,  1915;  attached  Section  Two  until  August, 
19 1 5.  Returned  to  America.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Coast  Artillery.  To  France, 
with  42d  Coast  Artillery,  Died  of  pneumonia,  October  20,  19 18.  Buried 
Dannemarie.    Body  transferred  to  an  American  Cemetery  in  France. 


HOWARD  CROSBY  HUMASON 

Born  January  27,  1892,  in  New  Britain,  Connecticut.  Son  of  Harris  B.  and 
Nellie  Munroe  Humason.  Educated  New  Britain  High  School,  and  Tome 
School,  Port  Deposit,  Maryland,  Class  of  191 1.  In  business,  Landers, 
Frary  &  Clark  Company,  New  Britain.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
May  26,  1917;  attached  Transport  Section  184  until  December,  1917.  To 
America.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation.  Trained  Ground  School,  Princeton, 
New  Jersey,  and  from  September,  Camp  Dick,  Texas.  Died  in  hospital, 
Dallas,  Texas,  October  21,  19 18,  of  pneumonia.  Buried  New  Canaan,  Con- 
necticut. 


HOWARD  CROSBY  HUMASON 

Even  without  the  testimony  of  all  who  came  in  contact 
with  Howard  Crosby  Humason,  we  should  know  him 
from  his  letters  to  have  been  conscientious,  humorous, 
sincere,  and  likeable.  He  wrote  often  and  at  great 
length  to  his  mother,  giving  a  panoramic  and  remark- 
ably vivid  picture  of  the  war  as  it  was  unrolled  before 
his  eyes,  and  faithfully  reproducing  the  story  of  his  own 
daily  life  for  her  comfort  and  assurance  even  when  he  was 
so  tired  that  letter-writing  must  have  required  great 
effort.  He  looked  at  the  world  sanely  and  objectively, 
contemptuous  rather  of  sentimentality,  and  yet  his  mind 
was  actively  alert  to  impressions  of  every  nature,  par- 
ticularly to  the  humorous  aspect  of  things  of  which  he 
wrote  in  a  quiet,  amused  way.  In  an  early  letter  he 
described  his  unique  method  of  getting  "extras"  from 
the  French  cooks  at  the  camion  camp  where  the  food 
was  good  but  insufficient  in  quantity:  "I  said  loudly 
every  time  I  approached  the  cook-tent,  *  Vive  la  France 
and  Beaucoup  de  Pommes  de  Terref'  In  October  he 
wrote  that  when  he  arrived  in  Paris  on  permission  he 
revelled  in  the  luxury  of  a  hot  bath  and  "then  went 
straight  to  sleep  in  a  bed  that  made  you  wonder  how  you 
would  get  in  and  what  would  happen  if  you  fell  out." 
Bits  of  humor  like  this  were  interspersed  with  observa- 
tions of  a  more  serious  nature.  In  July,  191 7,  he  wrote  : 
"In  Paris  the  majority  of  the  people  feel  the  privations 
of  war  without  the  actualities,  which  makes  them  dis- 
contented and  discouraged  more  than  those  who  are  in 
reality  at  war." 

Howard  was  educated  at  the  New  Britain  High  School 
and  at  Tome  School  from  which  he  graduated  in  191 1. 
The  school  paper  says  that  "he  made  an  excellent  record 
as  a  student  and  won  the  high  regard  of  the  masters  as 
well  as  of  the  entire  student  body."  He  went  immedi- 
ately into  the  employ  of  the  Landers,  Frary  and  Clark 
Company  in  New  Britain  where  he  remained  until  his 

203 


HOWARD  CROSBY  HUMASON 


enlistment  in  the  American  Field  Service  on  May  26, 
19 1 7.  To  his  business  associates  he  disclosed,  in  the 
words  of  the  paper  published  by  his  fellow  employees, 
"a  thoughtful  consideration  of  others  and  an  unfailing 
good  humor."  He  went  to  the  front  in  Section  i,  T.  M. 
U.  184,  of  the  camion  branch  and  saw  active  service  in 
the  Chemin  des  Dames  sector  from  July  to  December. 
Through  his  letters  he  has  given  one  of  the  most  ac- 
curate and  vigorous  accounts  of  camion  life  that  has 
been  written  and  it  is  regrettable  that  lack  of  space  pre- 
vents quoting  freely  from  them. 

In  December,  191 7,  he  returned  to  this  country  for  the 
express  purpose  of  enlisting  in  American  aviation,  hav- 
ing been  rejected  in  France.  He  passed  his  examina- 
tions with  a  100%  grade  and  was  sent  to  ground  school 
at  Princeton.  His  fellow  students  there,  writing  to  his 
mother  after  his  death,  remembered  him  as  "not  com- 
plaining   of    his    troubles,    humorous, always 

willing  to  hold  up  his  own  end  and  give  the  other  fellow 
a  lift.''  He  graduated  from  this  school  in  September 
and  was  sent  to  the  flying  field  at  Camp  Dick,  Texas, 
where  on  October  21,  191 8,  he  died  of  pneumonia. 

His  employer,  Mr.  Charles  F.  Smith,  said  of  him, 
"His  quiet,  unassuming  faithfulness  and  diligence  won 
the  regard  and  confidence  of  his  employers ;  his  kind 
heart  and  genial  disposition,  the  affection  of  all  his  as- 
sociates." A  boy  friend  wrote  that  he  was  "generous 
to  a  fault,  kind  and  true,"  and  the  headmaster  of  Tome 
School  recalled  Howard  as  "one  of  the  finest  boys  we 
have  ever  had  in  the  school."  We  who  read  these 
tributes  and  have  seen  his  letters  can  say  with  one  of  his 
fr{ehds  that  he  was  "frank,  generous,  chivalrous,  hon- 
orable, and  a  clean-hearted  gentleman." 


204 


OSRIC  MILLS  WATKINS 

To  few  has  been  granted  a  magnetism  —  a  charm  of 
personality  —  so  rich  as  that  of  Osric  Mills  Watkins. 
Wherever  he  went  among  high  and  low  he  made  friends 
who  loved  him  devotedly  and  who  followed  his  career 
with  eager  interest,  attracted  to  him  by  what  a  professor 
at  Wabash  College  described  as  "his  sturdy  forthright- 
ness  and  sunny  bonhomie."  He  was  impulsively  gen- 
erous, with  a  radiant  and  tender  smile.  He  loved  ani- 
mals and  he  reverenced  women.  Hugh  Walpole  says  in 
his  great  book  Fortitude,  "It  is  n't  life  that  matters,  it 's 
the  courage  ye  bring  to  it."  Life  to  Osric  was  not  always 
easy,  but  to  his  physical  and  moral  courage  it  never  pre- 
sented any  overmastering  problems. 

His  mind  was  of  a  delicate  imaginative  quality, — 
"such  stuff  as  dreams  are  made  on,"  —  sustained  by  a 
complete  and  beautiful  religious  faith.  The  following 
paragraph  from  a  letter  which  was  to  be  delivered  to  his 
mother  in  case  of  his  death,  shows  not  only  the  loftiness 
of  his  purpose  but  also  his  power  of  expression, — 

"This  is  n't  to  be  mailed  until  IVe  gone  where  all  good 
aviators  go.  Honey.  You  are  so  wise  and  brave  and 
cheerful  that  I  know  you  can  be  as  proud  as  you  are  sad 
at  my  death.  Of  course  there  is  scant  reason  to  be  sad, 
anyway.  You  would  have  wanted  me  to  live  that  I 
might  be  happy  for  myself  and  that  I  might  be  a  con- 
tinual source  of  pride  and  joy  to  you.  Well,  as  for  me, 
mother,  my  life  has  been  one  long  history  of  happiness, 
and  no  other  ending  of  it  could  have  left  me  more  con- 
tent. Could  fifty  more  years  have  made  it  more  per- 
fect? And  so  with  you  also.  Could  I  have  done  any- 
thing to  make  you  more  proud  ?  With  Liberty  and  true 
Christianity  at  stake  you  would  never  think  of  shrinking 
from  the  sacrifice." 

In  May,  191 7,  he  left  Harvard  to  enter  the  Boston 
office  of  the  American  Field  Service.  He  went  to  France 
in  July,  traveling  steerage  in  order  that  a  poor  woman 

205 


OSRIC  MILLS  WATKINS 


and  her  sick  child  might  have  his  cabin,  and  spent  a 
month  there  on  a  Field  Service  mission,  returning  in 
August.  On  October  3,  191 7,  he  sailed  again  for  France 
and  joined  the  American  Air  Service,  writing  to  his 
family,  "If  you  do  not  approve  you  have  only  yourselves 
to  blame  for  teaching  me  in  my  childhood  to  love  and 
honor  —  first  God,  then  my  country,  and  then  my 
family."  He  became  a  keen,  daring  flyer,  and  all  his 
fellow  officers  are  agreed  that  he  would  have  made  an 
admirable  fighter.  One  of  them  who  came  particularly 
to  love  and  admire  him  wrote  to  his  father, —  "We  all 
have  our  ideals  of  what  a  man,  a  Christian,  should  be, 
and  Osric  approaches  as  near  to  that  ideal  as  it  is  humanly 
possible  to  come Sympathy,  generosity,  fidel- 
ity, humility,  a  general  lovableness  of  disposition  which 
one  can  not  begin  to  describe, —  all  of  these  were  his  and 
more.*' 

In  October,  191 8,  at  Bar-le-Duc,  when  at  last  on  his 
way  to  the  front  assigned  to  the  94th  Aero  Squadron, 
First  Pursuit  Group,  A.  E.  F.,  as  a  chasse  pilot,  he  con- 
tracted influenza  and  later  pneumonia  from  which  he 
died  on  the  morning  of  October  23d,  calmly  and  serenely, 
justifying  the  promise  made  to  his  family,  "I  will  face 
all  things  unafraid,  both  physical  and  abstract,  as  I  have 
always  tried  to  do  in  the  past."  It  was  not  the  death 
that  he  had  dreamed, —  glorified  death  in  battle, — 
fighting.  And  it  was  a  higher  courage  that  could  meet 
it  smilingly.     "I  will  face  all  things  unafraid  !" 


206 


OSRIC  MILLS  WATKINS 

Born  February  6,  1897,  in  Indianapolis,  Indiana.  Son  of  Oscar  Leon  and 
Rosa  Mills  Watkins.  Educated  Shortridge  High  School ;  Wabash  College, 
one  year,  and  Harvard  University,  Class  of  1919.  Joined  American  Field 
Service,  May  23,  191 7;  attached  American  Staff,  Boston  Office.  Mission 
to  France,  July- August.  To  America,  and  returned  to  France,  October  3, 
191 7,  in  U.  S.  Aviation.  Trained  Foggia,  Italy.  Commissioned  Second 
Lieutenant,  May  18,  191 8.  Trained  in  France,  Tours,  St.  Maixent,  Issou- 
dun,  and  Cazeau.  Assigned  94th  Aero  Squadron,  First  Pursuit  Group. 
Died  October  23,  1918,  of  pneumonia  on  way  to  the  Front,  at  Bar-le-Duc. 
Buried  Bar-le-Duc,  Meuse.  Body  to  be  transferred  to  Crown  Hill  Ceme- 
tery, Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


CHARLES  BACON 

Born  November  6,  1895,  in  Waltham,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Clarence  E. 
and  Elizabeth  Sheldrake  Bacon.  Educated  Waltham  High  School  and 
Dartmouth  College,  Class  of  1919.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  June  2, 
1917;  attached  Transport  Section  184  until  November  16,  1917.  Enlisted 
U,  S.  Field  Artillery,  December  5,  191 7;  attached  103d  Regiment,  26th 
Division.  Killed  in  action  between  Haumont  and  Samogneux,  October  24^ 
1918.  Recommended  for  heroism  citation.  Buried  Samogneux,  Meuse. 
Body  transferred  to  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 


CHARLES  BACON 

Charles  Bacon  wrote  to  his  family  in  October,  191 7, 
while  finishing  out  his  term  of  enlistment  with  the  Cam- 
ion Service,  a  letter  unconsciously  filled  with  an  intense 
longing  for  home.  At  the  end,  however,  he  assured  his 
family  that  he  was  not  homesick  but  on  the  contrary  well 
and  happy,  and  philosophically  concludes,  "I  would  give 
a  good  deal  to  be  home  for  Christmas  but  I  guess  we 
can  not  have  everything  we  want/'  It  was  typical  of 
his  unflagging  spirit  that  he  would  not  admit  his  unhap- 
piness  and  it  was  equally  to  be  expected  that  he  would 
not  let  the  thing  that  he  wanted  to  do,  stand  in  the  way 
of  his  duty.  We  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  on  the 
very  day  on  which  the  letter  arrived  in  America,  he  en- 
listed in  the  United  States  Army  as  a  private  in  the  103d 
Field  Artillery. 

At  the  Waltham  High  School  and  during  his  short  two 
years  at  Dartmouth  College,  "Dutch,"  as  he  was  called, 
made  many  friends  whose  affection  for  him  shines  out 
from  every  page  of  the  letters  they  wrote  to  his  family 
on  learning  of  his  death.  One  schoolboy  chum  wrote 
with  a  feeling  that  was  typical  of  them  all,  "He  was  the 
whitest  man  I  've  ever  met,  and  every  fellow  that  has 
known  him  thinks  just  that  way.  Believe  me,  he  leaves 
a  precious  memory  to  us " 

Early  in  191 7,  Bacon  realized  the  nearness  of  the 
crisis  and  thought  out  his  own  duty  in  regard  to  it.  In  a 
letter  to  his  mother,  dated  March  4th,  he  deplored  the 
necessity  of  war  with  its  attendant  suffering,  but  stated 
calmly  without  affectation,  "I  will  surely  join  wherever 
I  can  do  the  most  good."  June  found  him  on  his  way 
to  France  in  the  American  Field  Service. 

With  his  eagerness  to  see  immediate  action,  he  chose 
the  camion  branch  and  spent  a  happy  and  absorbing 
summer  in  T.  M.  U.  184  in  a  camp  at  Jouaignes,  running 
up  to  the  front  near  Vailly,  on  the  Aisne.  He  wrote 
home  long,  ingenuous  letters,  full  of  the  interest  of  his 

207 


CHARLES  BACON 


new  work,  striving  conscientiously  to  reproduce  for  the 
benefit  of  those  at  home  the  atmosphere  of  the  Hfe  he 
was  leading.  They  are  interwoven  with  bits  of  color 
and  humor,  and  fairly  breathe  the  affection  and  tender- 
ness he  always  felt  for  his  family.  In  describing  his 
sensations  the  first  time  he  was  under  fire,  he  said,  "We 
all  felt  like  lost  dogs."  In  another  letter  he  gives  us  a 
different  and  interesting  impression  of  his  character. 
There  were  just  two  things  he  wanted,  he  wrote, —  a  col- 
lection of  Robert  Service's  poems  and  a  tin  of  tobacco, — 
and  though  he  doubted  whether  the  tobacco  could  be 
sent,  he  insisted  on  the  poetry. 

Like  many  Americans  he  at  first  wrote  somewhat  dis- 
paragingly of  the  French,  but  he  was  quick  to  recognize 
and  acknowledge  his  mistake.  Later  we  find  him  saying, 
"It  is  great  to  think  you  are  doing  something  for  France 
I  only  wish  I  had  come  over  a  year  or  two  ago." 

On  December  5,  1917,  "Dutch"  transferred  to  the 
American  Army,  enlisted  in  Battery  C,  103d  Field 
Artillery,  26th  Division,  and  soon  went  into  action.  Of 
the  last  months  of  his  life,  crowded  as  they  must  have 
been,  we  know  but  little.  In  the  late  afternoon  of 
October  24th,  191 8,  as  he  stood  by  his  gun  in  a  little  pit 
to  the  right  of  the  road  that  runs  from  Samogneux  to 
Haumont,  northwest  of  Verdun,  he  was  struck  and  in- 
stantly killed  by  a  shell  that  exploded  just  above  him. 
His  body  lies  now  in  the  cemetery  of  the  Commune  of 
Samogneux. 

His  captain  described  him  as  "fearless  and  reliable," 
and  his  lieutenant  gave  him  high  praise  when  he  wrote 
"he  was  beloved  by  his  comrades  and  always  his  work 
was  of  the  best,"  but  we  know  as  certainly  his  worth 
when  we  hear  the  heart  broken  cry  of  his  roommate  of 
the  old  happy  days  at  Dartmouth, —  "  I  loved  him,  I 
loved  him  !" 


208 


GEORGE  LANE  EDWARDS,  Junior 

Lieutenant  George  Lane  Edwards,  Jr.,  gave  his  life 
in  the  great  war  protecting  his  command.  No  finer 
tribute  could  be  paid  to  any  man.  By  this  single  act 
alone  he  has  bequeathed  to  all  who  knew  him  the  price- 
less legacy  of  an  imperishable  memory. 

A  general  order  from  Captain  Potter  telling  of  Lieu- 
tenant Edwards'  death  states  that  he  was  killed  by 
enemy  shell  fire  while  putting  in  safety  the  lives  of  his 
men.  "Lieutenant  Edwards  has  been  in  command 
since  the  company's  inception.  He  always  gave  the  best 
that  was  in  him,  and  was  appreciated,  liked,  and  ad- 
mired by  all  his  comrades,  of  whatever  rank." 

A  letter  from  Commandant  Mallet  of  the  French  army 
tells  the  circumstances  of  his  death.  While  unloading 
a  transport  near  Lor,  part  of  Lieutenant  Edwards*  com- 
pany underwent  a  violent  bombardment. 

"After  hastening  to  the  point  of  danger,''  Comman- 
dant Mallet  wrote,  "  Lieutenant  Edwards  directed  the 
personnel  and  material  to  a  place  of  safety.  He  wished 
to  go  over  the  bombarded  road  once  more  to  make  sure 
that  none  of  his  men  remained  there.  It  was  in  so 
doing  that  he  was  hit  by  a  shell  and  was  so  badly  wound- 
ed that  he  died  in  the  hospital  the  next  morning.  His 
commanders  lose  in  him,  a  capable  and  conscientious 
officer,  his  comrades  a  true  friend,  his  men  an  excellent 
commander." 

Lieutenant  Edwards,  in  fulfilling  his  duty  as  he  saw  it, 
reveals  the  finest  qualities  of  the  American  soldier,  a 
thorough  conscientiousness  and  an  absolute  disregard  of 
personal  danger. 

At  the  time  of  the  outbreaks  on  the  Mexican  border 
Edwards  was  a  student  at  Yale.  He  enlisted  and  served 
several  months,  then  as  soon  as  the  troops  were  recalled 
he  returned  to  college. 

When  the  United  States  declared  war  against  Germany 
he  tried  to  re-enter  the  service,  but  was  rejected  because 

209 


GEORGE  LANE  EDWARDS,  Junior 


of  defective  eye-sight.  He  joined  the  Field  Service  and 
went  to  France  with  the  Yale  unit,  entering  the  camion 
branch.  He  graduated  from  the  French  officers*  school 
at  Meaux,  becoming  Chef  of  a  section,  and  later  was 
transferred  to  the  Motor  Transport  Corps  of  the  Ameri- 
can army,  where,  enlisting  as  a  private,  he  was  raised  to 
the  rank  of  First  Lieutenant  within  a  short  time.  He 
had  been  serving  in  France  for  more  than  seventeen 
months  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

Lieutenant  Lamade  of  the  same  reserve,  sending  word 
that  Lieutenat  Edwards  had  been  awarded  the  Croix  de 
Guerre  with  palm,  added,  "  May  I  say  just  a  word  about 
Lane  ?  When  I  took  over  the  group  and  became  his  im- 
mediate commanding  officer,  there  was  not  another  as 
willing  to  work  long  hours,  to  give  thought  and  energy, 
as  he,  in  order  to  make  the  group  run  smoothly.  To  tell 
you  that  he  was  loved  by  his  men  seems  trite  —  but,  oh, 
how  true  it  is,  and  not  only  true  of  the  men,  but  of  us 
officers  who  have  known  him,  and  worked  with  him  as 
we  have.  Lane  died  serving  his  country  and  fighting  for 
the  cause  of  France  and  humanity.  His  vision  was 
greater  than  any  of  ours,  and  so  we  felt  that  it  would  be 
his  desire  to  rest  under  the  inscription  we  have  put  on  the 
cross  which  marks  his  grave  —  'Mort  pour  la  France.' " 

Frank  H.  Kimber  wrote  to  his  father,  "Company  C  is 
broken-hearted  this  morning,  for  we  have  just  learned 
that  our  Lieutenant  was  killed  on  convois  two  nights  ago. 

He  was  one  who  was  on  the  job  till  the  last  car 

was  in  camp,  and  even  the  men  who  thought  he  was  too 
strict  and  over-conscientious,  realize  it  will  be  impossible 
to  get  another  Lieutenant  who  can  handle  the  work  and 

the  company  as  well  as  he  did He  was  one  of 

the  cleanest  and  whitest  men  I  have  ever  known.  In 
one  sense  the  most  fit  to  die,  and  in  another,  the  most 
worthy  of  living." 


210 


GEORGE  LANE  EDWARDS,  Junior 

Born  October  8,  1895,  in  Kirkwood,  Missouri.  Son  of  George  Lane  and 
Florence  Noble  Evans  Edwards.  Home,  Kirkwood,  Missouri.  Educated 
Taft  School,  Watertown,  Connecticut,  and  Yale  University,  Class  of  1918. 
Mexican  Border,  1916.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  26,  191 7;  at- 
tached Transport  Section  133  to  November  13,  191 7.  French  Automobile 
School.  Commandant  Adjoint.  Transferred  U.  S.  Motor  Transport  Corps, 
First  Lieutenant,  Section  211.  Croix  de  Guerre  with  palm.  Died  October 
24,  19 18,  of  wounds  received  night  before  between  Lor  and  Neufchatel. 
Buried  French  Military  Cemetery,  Guignicourt,  Aisne. 


PHILIP  WINSOR 

Born  February  6,  1893,  in  Weston,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  Robert  and 
Eleanor  Magee  Winsor.  Educated  Middlesex  School,  Concord,  Massachu- 
setts, and  Harvard  University,  Class  of  1915.  Joined  American  Ambulance 
Service,  September,  1916,  Neuilly  Hospital,  until  January,  191 7.  Returned 
to  America.  Plattsburg  Camp,  six  weeks.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
June  20,  1917;  attached  Section  Four.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Army  Ambulance 
Service,  November  i,  1917.  Croix  de  Guerre,  two  citations.  Died  in  Bus- 
sang,  October  24,  1918,  of  pneumonia.   Buried  in  Bussang,  Vosges. 


PHILIP  WINSOR 

The  story  of  "Phil**  Winsor  is  the  story  of  one  handi- 
capped from  boyhood  by  illness  which  undermined  his 
happiness  and  self-confidence,  who  nevertheless  by  sheer 
force  of  character  won  to  health,  achievement,  and 
honor  in  his  country's  cause. 

One  of  his  masters  at  Middlesex  School  writes  of  him  : 
"*Phir  as  a  school  boy  was  one  of  those  rare  sensitive 
chaps  born  with  a  super-conscientiousness  that  made 
him  almost  too  good,  and  yet  with  this  unusual  charac- 
teristic he  found  his  friends  among  red-blooded  boys 
whose  respect  he  at  once  won.  This  fact  proves  as  well 
that  he  never  flaunted  his  goodness  nor  preached  to 
others  who  lacked  his  point  of  view.  His  election  to  the 
captaincy  of  the  baseball  team  in  his  senior  year  at 
Middlesex  showed  his  popularity  among  his  mates.  As 
an  athlete  he  possessed  a  'good  eye,*  and  as  a  scholar 
a  mind  much  above  the  average  of  his  class." 

He  entered  Harvard  in  191 1,  distinguished  himself  in 
freshman  athletics,  but  in  the  following  spring  was  com- 
pelled to  leave  college  on  account  of  ill  health.  Return- 
ing after  about  a  year's  absence,  he  devoted  himself  to 
his  studies  and  received  his  degree  in  191 6.  In  Septem- 
ber of  that  year  he  sailed  for  France  to  drive  an  ambu- 
lance for  the  American  Hospital  at  Neuilly,  in  Paris. 

He  returned  in  January,  191 7,  and  spent  the  following 
month  in  the  south  with  his  brother,  who  writes :  "Dur- 
ing this  month  *  Phil '  was  very  unhappy,  but  there  was  a 
battle  going  on  inside  him,  the  forerunner  of  a  very  great 
victory.  When  war  was  declared  he  went  to  Platts- 
burg  as  a  candidate  for  a  commission,  but  after  the  first 
six  weeks  he  was  dropped  from  the  squad  and  he  himself 
felt  that  he  was  entirely  unfitted  for  a  command. 

"Phil"  felt  that  he  must  get  back  to  France  in  some 
capacity  and  yet  he  loathed  the  very  thought  of  war  and 
the  horrors  it  entailed.  Most  of  all  he  hated  the  sick- 
ening work  of  carrying  wounded,  and  perhaps  because 

211 


PHILIP  WINSOR 


he  hated  it  most  he  decided  to  take  up  the  work  again, 
and  this  time  at  the  front.  He  was  sent  out  in  the  early 
summer  of  191 7  to  Section  Four,  and  when  in  the  au- 
tumn the  Field  Service  was  absorbed  by  the  American 
Army,  he  enlisted  in  the  U.  S.  Army  Ambulance  Service. 
For  a  year  it  was  an  uphill  fight.  He  doubted  his  ability 
to  carry  on  the  work  he  had  undertaken  and  he  dreaded 
the  dangers  to  which  he  was  exposed,  yet  to  conquer  this 
very  dread,  he  always  volunteered  for  any  particularly 
dangerous  task  and  was  twice  cited  for  the  Croix  de 
Guerre. 

With  the  summer  of  191 8,  however,  came  the  reward 
of  his  long  struggle.  Through  having  forced  himself  to 
the  utmost  in  his  w^ork,  he  began  to  take  an  interest  in 
this  work  for  its  own  sake.  He  forgot  himself,  his  fears, 
his  doubts.  His  health  improved  greatly  and  with  re- 
newed health  came  new  ambitions  and  ideals.  He  had 
long  since  won  the  love  and  respect  of  his  comrades  and 
the  confidence  of  his  officers,  and  now,  by  the  latter,  he 
was  recommended  for  a  commission. 

Then  suddenly  came  the  end.  He  fell  ill  with  in- 
fluenza, penumonia  followed,  and  on  October  24,  1918, 
he  died  in  France  close  to  the  German  Border  with  his 
Section.  It  seemed  a  horrible  jest  of  fate  that  his  life 
should  have  ended  just  as  it  was,  in  a  real  sense,  begin- 
ning,—  just  as  he  was  about  to  receive  the  rewards  for  his 
fight  which  he  had  won.  Yet  dying  as  he  did,  what  he 
gave  to  his  country  was  a  life,  the  more  valuable  for  its 
splendid  promise  as  a  citizen  ;  what  he  left  behind  was  a 
record  of  which  any  soldier  might  be  proud. 


212 


MEREDITH  LOVELAND  DOWD 

Meredith  Loveland  Dowd  was  of  the  type  of  natural- 
born  fighter  to  whom  action  and  excitement  are  as  nec- 
essary as  the  air  he  breathes.  Fear  he  may  have  known 
in  common  with  all  brave  men,  but  it  never  mastered 
him  nor  even  deterred  him  for  an  instant  from  the 
career  of  daring  that  was  his  by  choice.  As  a  boy  at 
Asheville  School,  he  showed  his  adventurous,  never-say- 
die  temperament  on  the  football  field  and  as  a  member 
of  the  baseball  and  track  teams.  The  school  paper  said 
of  him,  "While  at  Asheville  he  displayed  the  qualities 
which  led  him  to  give  his  life  for  his  country  —  courage, 

manliness,  determination,  honesty He  was  a 

student  of  good  ability  and  a  boy  of  strength  and  fine- 
ness.** At  Princeton  he  played  on  the  Freshman  and 
Varsity  baseball  teams,  the  Freshman  football  team,  and 
was  on  the  Varsity  football  squad.  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Elm  Club. 

The  voice  of  adventure  called  him  to  France  in  No- 
vember, 19 1 6  in  the  American  Field  Service,  for  no  man 
with  his  instincts  could  sit  and  study  in  a  classroom  while 
a  war  was  going  on.  He  went  out  to  Section  One  near 
Verdun  and  plunged  into  the  work  with  enthusiasm  and 
vigor.  A  comrade  tells  of  his  service  on  the  famous  and 
dangerous  Esnes-Montzeville  run.  "It  was  on  this 
work  that  Meredith  showed  us  his  energy,  his  untiring 
and  unselfish  desire  to  work  until  it  seemed  to  us  that 
there  was  no  limit  to  his  endurance." 

In  May,  191 7,  when  his  term  of  engagement  with  the 
American  Field  Service  expired,  it  was  quite  natural  for 
him  to  enlist  in  the  Lafayette  Escadrille,  for  flying  was 
sure  to  appeal  to  his  venturesome  spirit.  He  completed 
his  training  at  the  various  French  schools  but  was  even- 
tually commissioned  in  the  American  Air  Service.  As  a 
member  of  the  escadrille  guarding  the  city  of  Paris,  he 
had  an  accident  while  "contour  chasing,"  that  danger- 
ous and  difficult  training  in  accuracy  in  which  the  pilot 

213 


MEREDITH  LOVELAND  DOWD 


attempts  to  keep  as  close  as  he  can  to  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  "Had  dipped  my  wheels  in  the  Oise  River  and 
jumped  telephone  wires  and  bridges,"  he  wrote,  "and 
then  decided  to  see  how  close  I  could  skim  along  a  field 
of  wheat/'  Before  he  realized  it  his  wheels  had  touched 
the  wheat  and  were  pulling  him  in  with  the  result  that 
he  suddenly  found  himself  upside  down,  but  fortunately 
unhurt  and  undismayed.  The  French  soldiers  who 
came  running  to  the  scene  found  him  smilingly  but  rue- 
fully regarding  the  wreck  of  his  machine.  Soon  after 
this  he  went  to  the  front  assigned  to  the  147th  Aero 
Squadron.  On  October  26th,  he  and  three  others  were 
ordered  to  patrol  the  lines,  but  he  was  delayed  on  ac- 
count of  engine  trouble  and  his  companions  got  off  with- 
out him.  He  decided  to  follow  and  continued  alone  to 
the  adventure  that  was  to  be  his  last.  His  commanding 
officer.  Captain  James  A.  Meissner,  filed  the  following 
official  report  which  was  later  used  as  a  basis  for  the 
award  of  the  Distinguished  Service  Cross : 

"Lieutenant  Meredith  L.  Dowd,  A.  S.,  U.  S.  A.  went 
on  patrol  over  the  lines  on  the  afternoon  of  October  26, 
1 9 1 8 ,  at  about  two  o'clock.  Over  the  Bois  de  Dannevoux 
he  observed  four  German  planes.  According  to  the 
statement  of  Private  M.  M.  Buckland,  305th  Trench 
Mortar  Battery,  80th  Division,  who  saw  the  combat, 
Lieutenant  Dowd  first  showed  his  markings  to  the  planes 
as  if  they  were  Allied  planes.  As  they  did  not  answer 
his  signal  he  attacked  them  immediately.  The  second 
time  he  attacked,  one  plane  left  the  formation  and 
headed  for  Germany.  Lieutenant  Dowd  attacked  the 
remaining  planes  three  times,  but  the  last  time  he  drove 
on  the  formation,  the  plane  which  he  had  first  driven  off 
returned  above  him  and  shot  him  down.  He  fell  in  a 
steep  dive  and  was  dead  when  found  by  the  French." 


214 


MEREDITH  LOVELAND  DOWD 

Born  July  23,  1895,  in  Orange,  New  Jersey.  Son  of  Heman  and  Mary  Love- 
land  Dowd.  Educated  Asheville  School,  North  Carolina,  and  Princeton 
University,  Class  of  1918.  Plattsburg  Camp,  1916.  Joined  American 
Field  Service,  November  11,  1916;  attached  Section  One  to  May  3,  1917. 
Enlisted  French  Aviation,  May  14th.  Trained  Avord  and  Pau.  Attached 
French  Escadrille  guarding  Paris,  Sergent.  Spad  Escadrilles  152  and  162  to 
February  17,  1918.  Transferred  U.  S.  Aviation.  Commissioned  Second 
Lieutenant,  April,  1918;  attached  147th  Aero  Squadron.  Killed  in  com- 
bat, October  26,  191&,  near  Dannevoux,  north  of  Verdun.  D.  S.  C.  Buried 
Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 


RICHARD  VARIAN  BANKS 

Born  March  31,  1894,  in  Ossining,  New  York.  Son  of  Varian  and  Clara 
Williamson  Banks,  Educated  Ossining  schools,  Holbrook  School,  and 
Rensselaer  Polytechnic  Institute,  one  year.  With  Franklin  Motor  Car  Com- 
pany, Syracuse,  New  York.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  June  30,  191  7  ; 
attached  Transport  Section  526  to  November  18,  191 7.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Air 
Service,  December  2,  191 7,  St.  Maixent.  Trained  Tours  and  Issoudun. 
Commissioned  Second  Lieutenant,  May  18,  19 18.  Killed  in  automobile  ac- 
cident, October  30,  19 18,  near  Nancy.  Buried,  Cemetiere  du  Sud,  Nancy, 
Meurthe-et-Moselle. 


RICHARD  VARIAN  BANKS 

"What  if  he  does  not  come,  you  say? 
Ah,  well !   My  sky  would  be  more  gray. 
But  through  the  clouds  the  sun  would  shine 
And  vital  memories  be  mine. 
God's  best  of  manhood  is,  I  know, 
Not  'will  he  come,'  but  'did  he  go.'" 

This  simple  sentiment  by  the  father  of  Richard  Banks 
speaks  the  spirit  with  which  these  parents  bore  the  loss 
of  their  son  whose  name  appears  on  the  immortal  list  of 
those  who  gladly  gave  their  lives  for  their  country.  The 
boy  expressed  his  own  patriotism  in  the  following  letter^ 
written  after  two  strenuous  months  of  camion  service  in 
France : 

"From  the  first,  this  camion  service,  even  when  I  was 
at  home,  was  not  my  idea  of  serving  my  country  best. 
I  am  doing  a  bit,  but  not  my  bit.  I've  seen  enough  fly- 
ing over  here  to  realize  its  dangers,  but  duty  first,  and 
nothing  will  satisfy  me  in  the  execution  of  that  duty  but 
the  highest  service  I  can  render.  I  may  never  qualify 
for  a  pilot,  which  would  break  my  heart,  but  I  would  at 
least  have  the  satisfaction  of  having  hitched  my  wagon 
to  a  star." 

That  he  did  qualify  satisfactorily  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  but  five  months  intervene  between  his  enlist- 
ment in  aviation  and  the  dating  of  his  commission.  On 
November  i8,  191 7,  he  received  his  honorable  discharge 
from  T.  M.  U.  526  and  the  camion  service,  with  which  he 
had  served  since  July  30th,  and  a  fortnight  later  took  the 
oath  as  a  cadet  in  the  air  service.  After  much  weary 
waiting  at  St.  Maixent,  he  received  his  commission  as 
Second  Lieutenant  on  June  11,  191 8,  effective  from  May 
18. 

How  galling  this  waiting  was  to  him  can  best  be  told 
in  Banks'  own  words  :  "And  with  all  this  going  on,  here 
we  are  waiting.  It  surely  is  hard.  The  only  consola- 
tion that  we  have  is  that  we  are  needed,  and  are  working 
hard.     But  when  you  think  of  the  gallant  British  and 

215 


RICHARD  VARIAN  BANKS 


French  being  slaughtered  this  very  minute,  and  we  in  this 
war  just  as  much  as  those  poor  devils,  enjoying  life,  light, 
and  sunshine,  it  does  n't  seem  right/' 

Before  Banks  could  realize  his  ambition  of  active  ser- 
vice over  the  front  lines,  a  truck  in  which  he  was  riding 
crashed  over  a  cliff  to  the  bottom  of  a  twenty  foot  gorge, 
—  and  a  brave  life  was  snuffed  out. 

A  few  excerpts  from  letters  of  friends  tell  how  they 
mourned  the  loss  of  "Dick"  Banks.  "I  am  truly 
stunned  by  the  news  you  sent  me  about  Dick,  whom  I 
loved  as  a  brother,"  wrote  his  chum.  "*It  can't  be 
true'  has  run  through  me  a  hundred  times.  The  dis- 
appointment and  the  sense  of  immeasurable  loss  is  over- 
powering. It  is  not  so  hard  to  die  for  one's  country,  I 
feel,  for  such  a  death  does  much  to  help  the  loved  ones 
left  behind ;  but  to  die  by  accident  for  one's  country  is 
hard. 

"  Dick  had  a  far  finer  patriotism  and  realized  the  big- 
ness of  the  thing  while  we  worked  together  more  than  I, 
for  I  was  seeing  only  my  own  little  job.  And  I  shall 
cherish  always  his  letters  from  the  camion  section.  He 
was  always  eager  to  throw  himself  against  the  invader 
and  despoiler  and  help  avenge  wanton  destruction.  Had 
Dick  not  been  delayed  in  training  camps,  he  would  have 
made  a  name  for  himself  in  the  sky,  for  he  had  the 
ability,  the  nerve,  and  the  wonderful  spirit." 


216 


JAMES  DUDLEY  BEANE 

At  the  Concord  High  School,  James  Dudley  Beane  is 
remembered  "rather  for  the  variety  and  ingenuity  of  his 
pranks  than  for  his  learning His  was  a  rest- 
less young  spirit,  waiting  for  some  interest  outside  of 
books  that  should  seem  real  to  him."  It  was  undoubt- 
edly this  wild  longing  for  adventure  that  drew  him  in  the 
summer  of  191 6  from  the  dull  routine  of  business  life  to 
France  and  the  war.  As  an  ambulance  driver  in  Section 
Nine  of  the  American  Field  Service,  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  observe  the  war  at  first  hand,  and  to  find  that 
it  was  in  the  main  as  prosaic  and  unromantic  as  studying 
Latin  or  adding  up  figures.  But,  though  he  lost  illu- 
sions, he  caught  in  their  place  a  splendid  fire  of  enthusi- 
asm for  France  and  for  the  greatness  and  sanctity  of  her 
cause.  In  191 7,  he  entered  French  Aviation,  but  was 
later  transferred  and  eventually  commissioned  in  the 
American  Army,  being  among  the  first  American  pilots 
to  reach  the  front.  The  service,  with  its  dangers  and 
its  glory  combining  to  make  it  the  most  chivalric  branch 
of  the  Army,  appealed  to  his  romantic  and  adventurous 
spirit,  and  he  showed  great  adaptability  and  proficiency 
as  a  flyer.  He  was  soon  taking  an  active  part  in  aerial 
combat  with  the  enemy,  in  which  work  he  was,  in  the 
words  of  his  squadron  commander,  "vigorous  and 
clever." 

On  June  30,  1918,  occurred  his  first  exploit, —  a  fight 
against  overwhelming  odds,  in  the  course  of  which  his 
plane  was  completely  riddled  and  two  fingers  of  his  left 
hand  shot  off, —  rewarded  by  the  following  citation  for 
the  Croix  de  Guerre  to  the  Order  of  the  Army :  "In  the 
course  of  patrol  duty,  James  Dudley  Beane  was  attacked 
by  several  enemy  planes,  and  although  seriously  wounded 
he  succeeded  in  extricating  himself  and  in  bringing  back 
his  damaged  machine.  He  showed  in  this  circumstance 
much  skill  and  great  coolness."  His  own  version  of  the 
affair,  contained  in  a  letter  from  the  hospital,  was  quite 

217 


JAMES  DUDLEY  BEANE 


different,  and  very  characteristic:  "I  lost  two  digits  in 
a  fight  some  time  ago,"  he  wrote  briefly,  "and  have  been 
laid  up  in  the  hospital  ever  since." 

On  his  return  to  the  front  he  set  out  upon  the  business 
of  bringing  down  Huns  with  redoubled  energy  and  skill. 
It  was  not  long  before  he  became  an  **ace,"  having  de- 
stroyed five  enemy  planes  upon  which  official  confirma- 
tion was  secured.     ''He  was  quiet  and  modest  about  his 

achievements,"   says   his   commander,  " and   a 

braver  or  more  skillful  pilot  would  be  hard  to  find."  On 
October  29,  191 8,  he  added  two  more  Germans  to  his  list 
in  an  inspired  fight  that  is  officially  recorded  in  his  cita- 
tion for  the  Distinguished  Service  Cross:  "When  Lieu- 
tenant Beane's  patrol  was  attacked  by  eight  enemy 
planes,  Fokker  type,  he  dived  into  their  midst  in  order 
to  divert  their  attention  from  the  other  machines  of  his 
group,  and  shot  down  one  of  the  Fokkers  in  flames. 
Four  other  Fokkers  then  joined  in  the  battle,  one  of 
which  was  also  destroyed  by  this  officer." 

The  next  day  he  flew  out  over  the  lines  and  engaged  in 
his  last  "dog  fight."  In  the  course  of  the  combat  he 
disappeared  from  view,  and  was  for  some  time  listed 
among  the  missing.  After  the  Armistice,  however,  his 
name  was  located  in  the  official  German  records  as  killed 
in  action,  and  later  his  grave  was  found  close  by  the 
wreck  of  the  machine  that  he  had  loved  and  in  which  he 
had  made  his  glorious,  imperishable  record,  in  a  little 
hollow  off  the  road  that  runs  from  Brieulles  to  St.  Pierre- 
men  t,  in  the  Ardennes. 


218 


JAMES  DUDLEY  BEANE 

Born  January  20,  1896,  in  New  York  City.  Son  of  Edmund  Murray  and 
Kate  Miles  Beane.  Educated  Albany,  New  York,  and  Wellesley  Hills, 
Massachusetts,  schools,  and  Concord  High  School,  Class  of  19 14.  Employed 
State  Department  of  Education.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  July  8, 
1916;  attached  Section  Nine  to  July  20,  1917.  Enlisted  French  Aviation; 
trained  Tours  and  Issoudun.  Attached  69th  French  Escadrille.  Commis- 
sioned First  Lieutenant,  U.  S.  Air  Service,  January  8,  1918,  detailed  with 
che  French.  Wounded  in  action,  June  18,  19 18.  Croix  de  Guerre  and 
D.  S.  C.  Transferred  to  2 2d  U.  S.  Aero  Squadron,  August  27,  1918.  Killed 
in  combat  north  of  Grandpre,  October  30,  1918.  Buriied  near  Brieulles- 
sur-Bar,  Ardennes.  Body  transferred  to  American  Cemetery,  Romagne- 
sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 


STEVENSON  PAUL  LEWIS 

Bom  December  2,  1892,  in  Toledo,  Ohio.  Son  of  Norman  Stanley  and 
Grace  Chatterton  Lewis.  Educated  Sharon,  Pennsylvania,  and  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  schools;  one  year  Michigan  Agricultural  College,  and  graduated 
University  of  Wisconsin,  February,  191 7.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
March  12,  1917;  attached  Section  Seventeen  to  September  8,  1917.  En- 
listed U.  S.  Army,  December,  191 7.  Field  Artillery  School  at  Saumur. 
Joined  124th  iField  Artillery,  Second  Lieutenant,  July,  1918.  Promoted  to 
First  Lieutenant,  October  31,  191 8.  Killed  in  action  by  shell,  October  31, 
191 8,  in  Bois  de  Bantheville,  Argonne.  Cited  in  American  Army  Orders. 
Buried,  American  Cemetery,  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse.  Body  to 
be  transferred  to   Lakeview  Cemetery,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 


STEVENSON  PAUL  LEWIS 

"If  I  thought  I  could  leave  a  name  like  he  did,  I  would 
die  easy  any  time."  This  was  written  of  Lieutenant 
Stevenson  Paul  Lewis  by  one  of  his  sergeants  in  the  124th 
Field  Artillery,  who  added,  "He  was  an  officer  in  rank, 
but  in  his  own  heart  one  of  the  boys  and  we  all  knew  it, 
and  every  one  in  the  battery  liked  him  .  .  ."  "Steve's" 
captain  spoke  of  the  pride  he  felt  in  "having  such  a  man 
as  a  lieutenant,"  and  said  that  he  served  with  the  bat- 
tery through  the  St.  Mihiel  and  Argonne  offensives  until 
his  death,  "rendering  at  all  times  the  most  valuable  ser- 
vice possible  for  an  officer.  He  was  on  liaison  work  with 
the  Infantry,  and  directed  a  great  deal  of  the  effective 
fire  of  my  guns, —  at  the  same  time  performing  impor- 
tant and  hazardous  missions  for  the  Infantry,  which  re- 
quired skill,  coolness,  and  bravery,  and  often  took  him 
within  the  German  lines."  Lieutenant  Nedrow  of  his 
regiment  wrote,  "Lieutenant  Lewis  was  not  afraid  of  the 

devil  himself I  think  he  died  as  he  would  have 

wanted  to,  at  the  front  facing  the  enemy I  can 

not  express  our  loss, —  the  loss  of  a  great  big  boy  pal." 

Similar  ability  and  popularity  had  been  Steve's  in 
high  school,  at  Michigan  where  he  spent  a  year,  and  at 
Wisconsin  where  he  received  his  degree,  being  on  the 
track  and  football  teams,  a  fraternity  man,  and  several 
times  a  class  officer.  Again,  when  he  volunteered  in 
the  Field  Service  a  month  after  graduation  and  before 
America  entered  the  war,  he  won  many  close  friends  by 
his  quiet  reliability  and  sturdiness  of  character.  He 
shared  in  that  effort  which  secured  the  section  a  divi- 
sional citation. 

"He  was  a  great  lover  of  nature,"  wrote  Steve's 
father,  "and  was  happiest  when  out  on  a  long  tramp  or 
roughing  it  as  a  harvester  in  the  Dakotas  or  Kansas,  for 
it  was  in  this  way  that  he  spent  two  of  his  summers." 
Abroad,  too,  his  preference  was  for  the  strenuous,  out- 
door life,  and  he  made  a  game  of  his  participation  in  the 

219 


STEVENSON  PAUL  LEWIS 


war,  playing  it  with  all  his  heart  and  soul.  As  one  of 
his  men  naively  wrote:  "he  was  wise  to  the  war  game 
and  we  were  blessed  when  he  was  assigned  to  us." 

A  course  at  the  artillery  school  at  Saumur  followed  the 
completion  of  Steve's  enlistment  term  in  the  Field  Ser- 
vice, and  he  joined  the  124th  Field  Artillery  as  a  Second 
Lieutenant.  The  colonel  spoke  of  his  zeal  in  asking 
always  for  the  most  hazardous  tasks.  Steve  remained 
for  sixteen  days  with  the  attacking  infantry  at  one  time, 
"requesting"  to  remain  when  the  other  liaison  officers 
were  replaced.  Of  his  narrow  escapes  he  said,  "I  am 
lucky,  I  guess,  also,  I  *play'  the  shells."  His  one  fear 
was  that  he  might  be  called  back  to  a  school  as  an  in- 
structor:  "To  be  sent  back  there  would  be  the  biggest 
disappointment  possible  now  that  this  outfit  is  in  the 
line,  and  though  it  may  be  considered  a  reward,  it  is  no 

place  to  be  with  any  fighting  going  on I  only 

hope  they  don't  get  me."  His  fearlessness  was  almost 
a  love  of  danger.  On  a  permission  he  climbed  Mont 
Blanc  alone,  for  "the  reason  that  it  involved  a  chance 
was  enough."  In  June,  191 7,  he  had  volunteered  and 
served  with  the  hrancardiers  when  he  was  off  duty  as  an 
ambulance  driver. 

Having  gone  untouched  with  the  Infantry  through 
numerous  attacks,  Steve  was  killed  by  a  shell  on  October 
31,  191 8,  as  he  went  forward  to  an  observation  post  to 
adjust  his  battery's  fire.  In  September  he  had  written  : 
"I  hope  the  end  will  come  soon,  but  I  will  never  leave 
the  line  until  I  am  absolutely  incapable  of  any  service, 
—  then  perhaps  I  can  help  in  the  S.  O.  S.  in  France. 
You  must  wait  until  it's  all  over  before  I  return."  Steve 
did  not  return  home,  but,  as  the  regimental  chaplain 
said,  "He  made  the  noblest  sacrifice  upon  God's  highest 
altar." 


220 


CHESTER  ROBINSON  TUTEIN 

If  ever  man  was  asked  to  serve  his  country  by  waiting, — 
irritating,  eternal  waiting  while  he  longed  to  be  striving 
at  the  front, —  such  a  one  was  Chester  Robinson  Tutein. 
In  the  autumn  of  191 7  after  three  months  with  a  camion 
section  of  the  Field  Service  he  decided  to  enter  aviation, 
but,  urged  by  the  commander  of  the  Reserve  Mallet,  he 
remained,  with  others  who  wished  to  leave,  until  their 
places  were  filled  in  November.  Immediately  Chester 
applied,  but  it  was  January  before  he  was  allowed  to  en- 
list as  a  private  in  the  air  service.  Meantime  he  did 
whatever  work  they  could  give  him  at  the  aviation  head- 
quarters in  Paris.  Then  for  five  months  after  his  enlist- 
ment he  waited  for  assignment  as  a  cadet  to  an  instruc- 
tion center,  doing  "kitchen  police"  duty  in  camp. 
Training  lasted  from  June  until  November  and  not  until 
Armistice  Day  was  he  assigned  to  his  pursuit  squadron. 
Less  than  a  week  later  he  was  killed  in  an  accident.  Yet 
as  truly  as  if  it  had  occurred  in  combat  Chester  died  in 
his  country's  cause. 

"Chet"  had  many  friends  at  the  Massachusetts  Insti- 
tute of  Technology  when  he  left  in  his  junior  year  for 
France  and  drove  a  truck  in  Section  526  through  the 
summer,  near  Soissons.  After  this  began  his  weary 
struggle  to  reach  the  front  as  a  pilot.  With  good  reason 
one  of  his  classmates  speaks  of  "the  fine  spirit  he  showed 
in  going  after  his  commission  in  the  face  of  so  much  hard 
luck"  and  of  his  "pluck  in  sticking  to  it." 

Chester  sometimes  wrote  bitterly  of  his  imagined 
shortcomings  and  laziness,  but  through  it  all,  as  Lieu- 
tenant Gilbert,  a  fellow  aviator,  wrote,  he  had  "'pep' 
all  the  time  to  cheer  one  on,"  and  his  commanding  officer 
mentions  especially  that  "he  was  always  willing  and 
cheerful  about  his  work."  His  spontaneous  humor  made 
many  a  dull  hour  endurable  for  his  comrades  while  for 
himself  he  said,  "I  have  been  a  full-fledged  army  cook 
for  two  weeks  and  it  has  given  me  something  to  live  for." 

221 


CHESTER  ROBINSON  TUTEIN 


"Chet"  joked  about  his  weariness,  his  work,  his  play, 
and  about  death.  Late  in  October  he  wrote:  "I  will 
either  be  an  ace  in  a  month  or  pushing  up  daisies."  He 
could  be  serious,  too,  for  when  a  pilot  and  his  observer 
crashed,  he  said  :  "Thank  the  Lord  I  have  nobody  rid- 
ing with  me I  do  not  wish  to  have  my  mistakes 

result  in  any  other  body's  suffering."  His  writing  was 
full  of  lively  touches  and,  loving  flying,  he  often  caught 
with  vigorous  simplicity  the  feeling  of  it,  as  when  he  said, 
"The  horizon  seems  to  curve  up  and  form  a  deep  saucer 
with  you  flying  over  the  center  of  it." 

The  front  was  reached  too  late  for  Chester  to  do 
battle.  Others  thought  immediately  of  getting  home, 
but  he  anticipated  months  of  policing  the  Rhine,  for 
him  homecoming  also  must  wait.  He  was  impatient  only 
at  the  idleness.  "Much  more  of  this  life,"  he  wrote,  dis- 
gusted, "will  be  about  my  finish,"  and  next  day  while 
flying  he  seemed  to  lose  control,  spun  straight  to  the 
ground,  and  was  killed.    "He  went  up  in  a  Sopwith 

*  Camel' played  low  and  stunted  close  to  the 

ground  in  a  most  wonderful  exhibition  of  flying 

Returning,  something  went  wrong  and  he  fell." 

It  seems  a  cruel,  unreasonable  end  for  such  patient  ser- 
vice, but  in  the  steadfastness  of  spirit  which  kept  "Chet" 
at  his  tasks  however  aimless  and  petty  in  seeming,  is  a 
real  heroism  finer  than  much  loudly  acclaimed  in  the 
war.  The  father  of  one  of  his  chums,  writing  to  Chester's 
father,  voiced  the  faith  that  had  been  "Chet's"  and 
which  his  whole  life  justified.  "  It  is  not  Taps  with  which 
we  lay  them  to  rest,  but  the  glorious  notes  of  a  divine 
Reveille  for  those  who  wake  to  see  the  Sun,  for  those  who 
face  the  Morning." 


222 


CHESTER  ROBINSON  TUTEIN 


Born  May  17,  1895,  ^^  Revere,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  E.  Arthur  and  Edith 
Robinson  Tutein.  Educated  Winchester  High  School  and  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology,  Class  of  1918.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
June  20,  1917;  attached  Transport  Section  526  until  November  19,  1917. 
Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation  as  cadet,  January  5,  1918.  Trained  Tours,  St. 
Maixent,  Issoudun,  and  St,  Jean  des  Monts.  Commissioned  Second  Lieu- 
tenant, May  18,  1918;  attached  185th  Aero  Squadron,  November  11,  1918. 
Killed  in  aeroplane  accident,  November  17,  191 8.  Buried  at  Souilly,  Meuse. 


ARTHUR  JOSEPH  BRICKLEY 


Born  February  5,  1894,  in  Charlestown,  Massachusetts.  Son  of  John  A,  and 
Mary  Jane  Coughlin  Brickley.  Home,  Charlestown,  Massachusetts.  Edu- 
cated Boston  Latin  School,  Harvard  University,  Class  of  1916,  two  years, 
and  College  de  Rennes,  France,  two  months.  Plattsburg  Camp,  1915.  With 
Finance  Committee,  Boy  Scouts  of  America.  Joined  American  Field  Ser- 
vice, June  30,  1917;  attached  Section  Seventy-one  to  August  31,  1917. 
Enlisted  U.  S.  Army  Ambulance  Service,  Section  644  (ex-32).  Croix  de 
Guerre.  Died  of  pneumonia,  December  9,  19 18,  in  field  hospital  at  Appilly, 
Qise,  southwest  of  Chauny.  Buried  at  Ploisy,  Aisne.  Body  to  be  returned 
to  America. 


ARTHUR  JOSEPH  BRICKLEY 

Arthur  Brickley,  although  born  with  a  frail  body, 
made  what  might  have  been  a  handicap  only  a  further 
incentive  to  achievement.  One  of  his  masters  writes 
in  the  Boston  Latin  School  Register  of  February,  1919 : 

"  Looking  back  ten  years,  we  remember  him  as  a  slight, 
delicate  boy,  driven  by  a  courage  and  energy  which  always 
threatened  to  burn  out  his  life  before  it  had  well  begun.  It 
was  this  very  courage,  however,  which  carried  him  in  spite  of 
poor  health  through  this  school  and  made  light  of  the  hard- 
ships of  foreign  service." 

He  had  completed  two  years  of  his  course  at  Harvard 
when  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  his  studies  on  ac- 
count of  ill  health.  In  the  summer  of  1915  he  attended 
the  first  Plattsburg  Training  Camp  and  from  January 
to  June  1 91 7,  gave  himself  devotedly  to  secretarial  work 
with  the  Finance  Committee  of  the  Boy  Scouts.  This 
work  completed,  he  enlisted  in  the  American  Field  Ser- 
vice and  sailed  for  France. 

Attached  to  Section  Seventy-One  he  spent  the  rainy 
summer  of  191 7  on  the  Somme  front  near  St.  Quentin, 
in  the  desolate  region  which  had  been  so  recently  occu- 
pied by  the  German  forces.  One  of  his  comrades  from 
this  Section  writes:  "Brickley  lived  in  my  tent  along 
with  a  dozen  others  during  that  dreary  summer  and  I 
never  saw  him  lose  his  temper  or  say  a  bad  word  against 
anyone.  I  remember  a  bunch  of  us  peeling  potatoes 
one  morning  in  the  rain.  Everyone  was  growling  and 
crabbing  except  Brickley  who  still  kept  his  cheerfulness. 
He  was  always  willing  to  help  anyone  and  never  failed 
to  volunteer  to  substitute  on  duty  if  a  man  was  sick." 
He  spoke  French  fluently,  having  at  one  time  attended 
for  a  few  months  the  College  de  Rennes,  France,  and  no 
matter  with  what  French  division  his  section  was  serv- 
ing he  became  at  once  immensely  popular  with  both 
officers  and  men. 

At  the  breaking  up  of  the  old  volunteer  service  he  en- 

223 


ARTHUR  JOSEPH  BRICKLEY 


listed  in  the  U.  S.  Army  Ambulance  Service  and  was 
transferred  to  S.  S.  U.  644,  formerly  Thirty-Two  of  the 
Field  Service.  The  following  is  quoted  from  the  letter 
of  a  fellow  member  of  this  Section  :  "It  was  during  the 
year  that  followed  that  I  came  to  realize,  as  did  we  all, 
his  generosity,  his  love  of  right  and  fearlessness  of  wrong, 
above  all  his  wonderful  optimism  that  never  failed." 

Of  his  death  the  same  friend  writes :  "During  the  last 
advance  he  was  seized  with  influenza  aiid  evacuated  to 
a  field  hospital  near  Chauny.  To  the  very  last  he  re- 
tained his  optimistic  esprit  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  his 
sickness  developed  into  pneumonia.  He  fought  gamely 
for  a  month  and  then  finally  was  forced  to  give  in,  on  the 
ninth  of  December,  191 8.  He  died  knowing  that  the 
cause  to  which  he  had  given  his  life  had  not  been  fought 
in  vain.  Nor  would  it  have  been  in  vain  had  his  cause 
failed,  for  the  inspiration  he  gave  to  us  in  living  and  in 
dying  is  one  we  shall  carry  through  life." 

Excepting  the  brilliant  citation  for  the  Croix  de  Guerre 
awarded  him  for  courageous  service  under  fire  during  the 
attacks  of  early  September,  191 8,  there  could  be  no  finer 
tribute  to  his  memory  than  the  words  spoken  at  his  grave 
by  M^decin  Principal  Michel  of  the  37th  Infantry  Di- 
vision, which  concludes  as  follows  : 

''Nous  avons  tous  connu  et  aime  ce  jeune  conducteur  qui 
est  venu  spontanement  offrir  son  coeur,  ses  jours,  sa  vie 
a  la  France  en  peril.  Partout  il  s  'est  signale  par  son  zele, 
son  devouement,  son  excellent  humeur,  son  sentiment  tres 
eleue  du  devoir. 

''II  n'a  quitte  le  service  que  terrasse  par  la  maladie  qui 
devait  le  ravir  d  I  'estime  de  ses  chefs,  a  I  'amitie  de  ses  cam- 
arades,  a  V affection  de  safamille. 

"Au  nom  du  Service  de  Sante  de  la  Division  que  vous 
avez  si  noblement  servi,  Conducteur  Brickley,  adieu!'' 


22\ 


GALBRAITH  WARD 

Galbraith  Ward,  a  great  great  grandson  of  Major- 
General  Artemas  Ward,  was  known  at  St.  George's 
School,  where  he  prepared  for  Princeton,  as  a  shy  and  re- 
served youngster  who  expressed  himself  more  easily  in 
writing  than  in  conversation.  There  already  he  showed 
the  firmness  of  conviction  and  steadiness  of  purpose  that 
are  so  well  illustrated  by  his  refusal  to  accept  a  com- 
mission not  woB  in  the  field.  Few  of  us  are  capable  of 
seeing  our  way  so  clearly  and  steadily  and  fewer  still 
would  have  the  spirit  to  refuse  advancement  because  of 
an  ideal  conception  of  duty.  But  Ward  saw  with  the 
clear  eyes  of  a  little  child  and  acted  with  a  man's  courage. 

A  Princeton  friend  writes  affectionately  of  him,  "He 
was  the  most  genuine,  unaffected  man  I  knew.  He  had 
never  found  himself  entirely  and  yet  he  had  a  mind  that 
I  know  would  have  accomplished  things  worth  while 
when  he  turned  to  the  work  that  attracted  him.  I  had 
many  letters  from  him  after  he  had  left  Plattsburg  and 
through  them  all  there  ran  the  note  of  absolute  honesty 
of  spirit  which  was  so  characteristic  of  him.  He  had  no 
thought  of  doing  anything  heroic.  There  was  nothing 
quixotic  in  his  courage.  And  it  did  take  cold  courage  to 
do  what  he  did  —  he  wrote  me  that  he  had  acted  know- 
ing from  his  own  observation  what  the  job  of  a  private 
soldier  was  in  the  trenches.  He  wrote  me  in  the  same 
vein  after  he  had  refused  a  commission  at  Upton  —  that 
he  was  determined  to  win  his  promotion  in  active  ser~ 
vice." 

In  December,  191 6,  Ward  sailed  for  France  in  the  Field 
Service  where  he  served  at  the  front  in  the  Vosges  De- 
tachment. In  June,  191 7,  he  returned  to  the  United 
States,  spending  a  short  time  at  Plattsburgh  and  going 
to  Camp  Upton  in  September  where  he  remained  until 
the  77th  Division  to  which  he  was  attached  sailed  for 
England.  He  became  corporal,  sergeant,  and  finally 
chief  of  the  battalion  intelligence  and  scouting  organiza-^ 

225 


GALBRAITH  WARD 


tion  under  Major  Freeman,  306th  Infantry,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  during  the  fighting  on  the  Vesle  and  the 
Aisne,  through  the  Argonne  and  the  advance  to  the 
Meuse. 

His  work  was  marked  by  an  inflexible  determination 
to  give  all, —  the  same  indomitable  spirit  that  had  al- 
ready been  shown  to  be  a  marked  characteristic  of  his 
and  which  was  later  to  cause  his  death.  The  incident 
related  in  the  following  citation  issued  from  the  Head- 
quarters of  the  77th  Division  we  must  regard  as  typical 
of  the  spirit  that  moved  him:  "On  the  night  of  Novem- 
ber 2-3,  1 91 8,  while  leading  a  detachment  through  a 
heavily  shelled  swamp  between  Thenorgues  and  Harri- 
court,  this  soldier  showed  an  utter  disregard  for  his  own 
safety  in  directing  and  helping  the  men  under  him  to 
find  shelter,  and  then  walked  over  one  hundred  yards 
through  shell  fire  to  the  rescue  of  a  soldier  of  the  304th 
Machine  Gun  Battalion,  who  had  been  severely  wounded, 
bringing  him  to  a  place  of  safety." 

During  the  last  days  of  the  war  he  drew  heavily  on  his 
reserve  of  strength,  flatly  refusing  to  go  back  to  a  hos- 
pital even  when,  as  his  Lieutenant  wrote,  "he  was  too 
sick  to  go  on."  On  December  17,  191 8,  he  died  of  pneu- 
monia caused  by  exposure  and  fatigue. 

Ward's  battalion  commander,  Major  John  R.  P.  Free- 
man, who  was  with  him  from  the  early  days  at  Camp 
Upton,  wrote  of  him  "Quiet,  modest,  and  unassuming, 

capable  and  trustworthy ;   and  utterly  fearless 

He  gave  the  best  that  was  in  him  ;  he  gave  more  because 
the  terrific  strain  of  the  Argonne  had  completely  under- 
mined his  health  and  still  he  kept  on  until  our  work  was 
done,  when  the  doctor  ordered  him  to  the  hospital  where 
he  died. 

"He  was  fine  and  clean  and  Tm  very,  very  sorry  that 
he  has  gone." 


226 


GALBRAITH  WARD 

Born  August  9,  1892,  in  Newport,  Rhode  Island.  Son  of  Judge  Henry  G, 
and  Mabel  Marquand  Ward.  Educated  Allen  School,  New  York  City ;  St. 
George's  School,  Newport,  and  Princeton  University,  Class  of  1915.  Joined 
American  Field  Service,  December  2,  1916;  attached  Vosges  Detachment 
to  June  2,  191 7.  Returned  to  America.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Infantry,  Septem- 
ber, 103d  Regiment.  Plattsburg  Camp,  and  Camp  Upton.  To  France  with 
77th  Division,  306th  Regiment,  Promoted  to  Corporal  and  Sergeant. 
Died  of  pneumonia,  December  17,  1918,  at  Chateau  Vilain.  Buried  Chateau 
Vilain.  Haute-Marne. 


GEORGE  WELLES  ROOT 

Born  November  21,  1896,  in  Hartford,  Connecticut.  Son  of  Erastus  S.  and 
Lillian  Dermont  Root.  Home,  Hartford,  Connectictit.  Educated  Hartford 
High  School,  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  Class  of  1919.  Joined 
American  Field  Service,  June  25,  1917;  attached  Transport  Section  526  to 
November  19,  191 7.  Returned  to  America.  Enlisted  as  Private,  U.  S. 
Heavy  Tank  Corps.  Promoted  to  Sergeant.  Sailed  for  England,  August, 
1918.  Died  of  diphtheria  and  pneumonia,  December  25,  19 18,  at  American 
Base  Hospital,  Salisbury  Court,  England.  Buried  Magdalen  Hill  Ceme- 
tery, Winchester,  England. 


GEORGE  WELLES  ROOT 

When  the  United  States  entered  the  war,  George  Welles 
Root  was  too  young  to  be  drafted,  but  his  desire  to  serve 
was  not  to  be  balked  so  easily,  and  in  June,  1917,  he  vol- 
unteered for  the  American  Field  Service.  A  youth  of 
twenty,  he  went  to  France  as  a  member  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology  Unit,  and,  shortly  after 
his  arrival  on  the  other  side,  was  detailed  to  one  of  the 
camion  sections  serving  the  French  army  on  the  Chemin 
des  Dames  front.  Here  he  labored  for  six  months  —  six 
months  of  hard,  uninspiring,  routine  work  —  but  the 
sort  of  work  that  was  essential  to  the  ultimate  victory. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  enlistment  he  returned  to  the 
United  States  where,  in  the  spring  of  191 8,  he  enlisted  as 
a  private  in  the  Heavy  Tank  Corps  of  the  National  Army. 
He  was  promptly  made  a  sergeant,  and  sailed  overseas 
with  his  battalion  in  August.  Soon  after  landing  in 
England  he  was  stricken  with  influenza,  complicated  by 
pneumonia,  and  followed  by  diphtheria.  He  died,  in 
service,  on  Christmas  day,  191 8,  at  American  Base  Hos- 
pital 40,  Salisbury  Court,  England,  and  was  buried  in 
Magdalen  Hill  Cemetery,  Winchester,  England. 

Sergeant  Root  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Chief  Jus- 
tice Jesse  Root  who  was  for  many  years  at  the  head  of 
the  Connecticut  Bar  and  who  served  several  years  in  the 
Continental  Congress.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Hartford 
High  School  and  a  member  of  the  Class  of  191 9  at  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology,  where  he  was  active  in 
college  affairs  and  a  universal  favorite.  As  early  as  his 
freshman  year  he  was  a  member  of  the  general  staff  of 
the  Technology  Monthly,  and  played  on  the  freshman 
football  team. 

Something  of  Sergeant  Root's  character  was  clearly 
evidenced  by  his  actions  in  his  last  year  of  High  Schol 
when  his  mother  became  critically  ill.  His  tender  care 
and  supreme  devotion  to  her,  giving  as  he  did,  practically 
all  his  time  outside  of  school  to  cheer  and  assist  her, 

227 


GEORGE  WELLES  ROOT 


proved  him  to  be  a  most  lovable,  thoughtful,  and  de- 
pendable son.  Obviously  such  unselfishness  was  of  the 
kind  which  would  lead  him  to  champion,  as  he  unhesi- 
tatingly did,  the  cause  of  democracy  and  to  fight  for  the 
ideals  in  which  he  so  earnestly  believed. 

"Your  devotion  to  the  highest  ideals,"  wrote  the  late 
President  Maclaurin  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology,  "and  the  spirit  that  has  moved  you  and  the 
other  Tech  men  now  *  somewhere  in  France'  to  give 
yourselves  unreservedly  to  the  cause  of  your  country 
and  humanity,  make  us  feel  proud  and  thankful.  May 
you,  and  the  other  Tech  'boys,'  be  cheered  by  the 
thought  of  our  confidence  in  your  valor,  and  by  our  ap-. 
preciation  of  the  stimulating  effect  of  your  self-sacrifice 
on  those  that  are  still  here,  and  may  this  Christmas, 
under  such  unusual  conditions,  crowded  as  it  must  be 
with  memories  of  home  and  of  those  you  left  behind 
with  anxious  solicitude  for  your  well-being,  bring  a 
special  blessing  to  us  all." 

Just  one  year  later  to  a  day,  early  on  Christmas  morn- 
ing at  Salisbury  Court,  England,  Sergeant  George  Welles 
Root,  having  been  at  the  front  in  France,  having  re- 
turned to  America  for  training,  and  now  being  again  on 
his  way  to  the  fighting  lines,  received  the  ultimate  re- 
ward of  his  services,  as  his  spirit  slipped  triumphantly 
away  to  claim  its  place  in  the  ranks  of  that  immortal 
host  —  the  heroes  of  the  World  War. 


228 


ARTHUR  RICHMOND  TABER 

"Archie"  Taber  from  childhood  was  endowed  with  an 
unusually  attractive  personality  and  a  splendid  physique. 
"  I  can  still  see  him  so  plainly  as  a  wonderfully  handsome 
child  with  superabundant  vitality.  Never  do  I  recall 
anyone  so  thoroughly  alive,"  writes  an  old  friend.  And 
as  this  fine  body  was  building  itself  up,  there  was  de- 
veloping at  the  same  time,  due  in  no  small  degree  to  the 
wise,  and  ever-watchful  care  of  his  parents,  a  character 
and  intelligence  of  the  finest  calibre. 

As  early  as  October,  19 15,  and  while  still  a  student  at 
Princeton,  he  felt  the  call  of  the  work  which  Americans 
were  doing  in  France,  and  enlisted  in  the  American  Field 
Service.  He  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  Section 
Four  which  left  Paris  in  November,  and  he  remained  at 
the  front,  in  Lorraine  and  in  the  region  of  Toul  with  the 
Section  for  three  months,  returning  to  America  in  Feb- 
ruary to  complete  his  course  at  Princeton.  A  year  later, 
as  his  father  writes,  "He  had  the  satisfaction  of  organ- 
izing and  sending  forward  three  Field  Service  units, 
each  composed  of  twenty-five  Princeton  students.  The 
impetus  given  by  his  efforts  resulted  later  in  the  forma- 
tion and  despatch,  under  the  leadership  of  his  successors, 
of  two  more  units." 

By  this  time,  however,  his  own  interest  was  centered 
in  aviation  and  on  March  8,  191 7,  he  applied  for  a  com- 
mission in  the  Aviation  Section,  Signal  Reserve  Corps. 
He  did  not  enter  the  army  as  a  flying  cadet  until  June 
29th,  but  in  the  meantime  he  flew  almost  daily  during 
April,  May,  and  June,  1917,  in  the  Princeton  Aviation 
School,  which  experience  stood  him  in  excellent  stead 
later  on.  Once  in  the  army,  he  first  completed  the 
course  at  the  United  States  Military  School  of  Aero- 
nautics at  Princeton,  and  in  September,  191 7,  sailed  for 
England  with  a  contingent  of  cadets  for  further  training 
at  the  various  English  Aviation  Schools  of  Oxford, 
Stamford,  and  Waddington.     In  February,  191 8,  he  was 

229 


ARTHUR  RICHMOND  TABER 


sent  to  France,  and  after  perfecting  himself  at  Tours  and 
Issoudun,  was  commissioned  First  Lieutenant  on  April 
14,  191 8.  On  July  8th  he  was  assigned  to  duty  as  trans- 
fer pilot  in  which  position,  during  the  remainder  of  the 
war,  he  had  the  privilege  of  performing  arduous  and  es- 
sential service  in  delivering  new  planes,  by  air,  from  the 
headquarters  at  Orly,  to  training-camps  and  points  at 
the  front.  He  twice  crossed  the  channel  to  England 
on  special  missions  and  once  flew  as  far  as  Ireland.  On 
February  11,  191 9,  while  in  discharge  of  his  duty  of  test- 
ing planes  at  Orly,  he  was  killed  by  the  fall  of  his  plane 
due  to  the  breaking  of  a  control. 

Such  is  the  service  which  Taber  gave  to  the  cause,  be- 
ginning a  year  and  a  half  before  his  country  entered  the 
war  and  continuing  after  the  armistice  and  until  his 
death.  Yet  splendid  as  this  record  is,  "Archie"  Taber 
will  be  remembered  as  much  for  the  manner  of  man  he 
was  as  for  his  achievements  or  anything  which  he  could 
have  done. 

The  final  measure  of  a  man's  worth  lies  in  the  judgment 
of  his  friends,  associates,  and  comrades,  and  the  following 
brief  extracts  from  letters  written  at  the  time  of  his 
death  show  what  this  judgment  is :  "Arthur  Taber  was 
the  best  known,  best  beloved,  and  most  respected  man 
on  this  post."  "He  was  liked  and  admired  everywhere  ; 
was  one  of  the  cleanest,  straightest  men  I  have  ever 
known.  He  was  to  me, —  as  to  others  who  knew  him  — 
ever  cheerful,  unassuming,  and  considerate ;  one  of  the 
best,  most  earnest  and  enthusiastic  pilots."  "There 
was  something  indescribable  about  Archie  that,  without 
his  saying  anything,  made  you  want  him  to  think  well  of 
you."  Briefest  and  perhaps  finest  of  all  is  this  brief 
tribute  from  a  fellow  aviator:  "He  was  white  way 
through." 


230 


ARTHUR  RICHMOND  TABER 

Born  July  22,  1893,  ^^  Far  Rockaway,  Long  Island,  New  York.  Son  of 
Sydney  Richmond  and  Julia  Biddle  Taber.  Home,  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 
Educated  Lake  Forest,  Illinois,  schools ;  Cloyne  House  School,  Newport, 
Rhode  Island ;  Groton  School,  Massachusetts ;  Sanford  School,  Redding 
Ridge,  Connecticut ;  Lake  Placid  School,  New  York,  and  Princeton  Uni- 
versity, Class  of  1917.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  October  18,  1915; 
attached  Section  Four  until  February  7,  1916.  Returned  to  America. 
Plattsburg  Camp,  1916.  Princeton  Aviation  School,  April  to  June,  191 7. 
Enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation  as  cadet,  June  29 ;  trained  Princeton.  To  England, 
September,  1917;  trained  in  Oxford,  Stamford,  and  Waddington.  To 
France,  February,  1918 ;  trained  Tours  and  Issoudun.  Commissioned  First 
Lieutenant,  Aviation  Section,  Signal  Reserve  Corps,  April  4,  19 18.  Trans- 
fer pilot,  Orly.  Flying  missions  to  England,  August  and  November,  1918. 
Killed  in  aeroplane  accident,  February  11,  1919,  at  Orly.  Buried  American 
Military  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine. 


CHARLES  JAMES  FREEBORN 

Born  November  ii,  1877,  in  San  Francisco,  California.  Son  of  James  and 
Eleanor  Smith  Freeborn.  Educated  San  Francisco  Schools,  Westminster 
School,  and  Sheffield  Scientific  School,  Yale  University,  Class  of  1899. 
Director  Freeborn  Estate  Corporation.  Joined  Ambulance  Service,  Neuilly, 
1914;  helped  organize  "Paris  Squad."  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
1915,  as  Assistant  to  Inspector  General;  recruited  in  America,  1916;  at- 
tached Section  Two,  March  31,  191 7,  as  Chef  Adjoint  to  September,  191 7. 
Croix  de  Guerre.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Army,  Intelligence  Department.  First 
Lieutenant,  July,  1918.  Liaison  Officer,  French  G.  H.  Q.  Promoted  to  Cap- 
tain. Legion  d'Honneur.  Died  of  influenza,  February  13,  1919,  in  Paris. 
Buried  in  Mountain  View  Cemetery,  Oakland,  California. 


CHARLES  JAMES  FREEBORN 

** Charley"  Freeborn  —  somehow  we  always  called 
him  ** Charley"  although  he  was  a  good  deal  older  than 
most  of  us  —  was  the  sort  of  friend  that  only  a  young 
American  who  has  left  home  for  the  first  time  to  cross 
the  ocean  and  serve  in  a  foreign  army  can  really  appre- 
ciate. Whether  you  joined  his  Section  at  the  front,  or 
whether  you  came  in  contact  with  him  when  he  was  on 
duty  at  Headquarters  in  Paris,  he  had  a  man's  way  of 
making  you  feel  at  home  and  helping  you  over  the  rough 
spots  of  your  new  environment  and  filling  you  with  a 
sense  of  what  it  all  meant.  A  thorough  American  him- 
self,  he,  at  the  same  time,  loved  France  devotedly  and 
felt  that  no  sacrifice  in  her  cause  was  too  great. 

In  England  at  the  time  of  the  First  Battle  of  the  Mame^ 
he  crossed,  in  December,  to  France  to  drive  an  ambu- 
lance, unable  longer  to  remain  merely  a  spectator. 
Speaking  French  perfectly,  a  competent  chauffeur,  and, 
above  all,  a  tireless  worker,  he  and  a  group  of  his  friends 
rendered  valuable  assistance  to  the  hard-pressed  hos- 
pital authorities.  He  threw  himself  whole-heartedly 
into  the  work  of  the  American  Ambulance  at  Neuilly, 
helping  organize  what  became  eventually  the  Field  Ser- 
vice. Of  his  aid  at  that  time  Colonel  Andrew  has 
written  as  follows : 

**In  the  early  days  of  the  War,  when  the  Field  Ser- 
vice was  in  its  frail  infancy,  and  its  friends  were  doubly 
appreciated  because  so  few,  Charles  Freeborn  was  one 
of  those  whom  we  particularly  valued  because  we  could 
count  implicitly  upon  his  loyalty  and  upon  his  readiness 
to  undertake  whatever  he  was  asked  to  do.  Although 
no  longer  a  boy,  and  although  long  accustomed  to  a  life 
of  ease  and  comfort,  he  accepted  willingly  whatever 
hardships  were  involved  in  the  varying  details  to  which 
he  was  assigned.  I  recall  particularly  the  winter  of 
1 91 5-1 6,  when  he  was  in  charge  of  a  detachment  of 
ambulances  at  Revigny,  and  how  uncomplainingly  he 

231 


CHARLES  JAMES  FREEBORN 


lived  for  weeks  in  the  cold  and  filth  of  a  ruined  stable, 
scarcely  fit  for  the  cattle  with  which  his  detachment 
shared  their  quarters.  I  cannot  forget,  either,  how  he 
voluntarily  crossed  the  ocean  and  went  all  the  way  to 
California  in  the  following  summer  to  carry  our  moving 
pictures  of  the  Service  to  the  people  of  that  State  who 
then  were  but  little  aware  of  the  significance  of  the  war." 

On  returning  to  France  he  was  given  command  of 
Section  Two,  then  operating  in  the  Verdun  sector.  He 
remained  with  this  Section  until  the  summer  of  191 7, 
gaining  the  respect  of  all  his  men  and  making  in  every 
way  an  excellent  leader. 

When  America  came  into  the  war  he  was  commis- 
sioned a  First  Lieutenant,  quickly  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  Captain,  and  given  an  important  post  in  the  American 
Mission  attached  to  French  G.  H.  Q.  His  discretion, 
his  knowledge  of  French,  and  his  long  experience  in  the 
War,  especially  fitted  him  for  this  delicate  work  which 
he  performed  so  well  that  he  received  the  cross  of  the 
-Legion  of  Honor. 

About  the  middle  of  January,  191 9,  he  was  demobil- 
ized, and  while  at  his  mother's  home  in  Paris,  died  from 
an  attack  of  influenza. 

"Charley"  Freeborn  was  always  unusually  uncom- 
municative about  the  fine  things  he  did.  Only  his  war- 
time friends  know  the  full  value  of  his  services.  **  Don't 
throw  any  flowers  at  me.  We  are  all  parts  in  a  big 
machine,"  he  once  wrote  in  reply  to  a  warm  letter  of 
commendation.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  char- 
acteristic than  that  of  the  modest  way  in  which,  from 
December,  1914,  to  the  end   he  did  his  duty  in  the  war. 


232 


CHARLES  BENJAMIN  KENDALL 

Except  in  the  eyes  of  the  biographer  modesty  is  a  virtue. 
For  when  a  man  is  as  self-effacing  as  was  Charles  Ben- 
jamin Kendall,  it  is  unfortunately  easy  to  overlook  the 
depths  of  character,  the  steadfastness  of  spirit,  the 
energetic  devotion  which  inspired  him  and  led  him  to  do, 
so  quietly  as  to  attract  little  notice,  his  duties  of  service. 
His  mother  says  "his  letters  were  good,"  but  vague  be- 
cause of  "his  modesty  in  regard  to  anything  pertaining 
to  himself."  "I  think  he  was  about  the  coolest  and 
bravest  man  under  fire  in  the  Section,"  wrote  J.  Frank 
Brown,  one  of  "Charlie's"  comrades,  "He  was  the  best 
man  to  be  with  in  a  tight  place.  He  received  a  mag- 
nificent citation  which  he  fully  deserved,  but  he  was 
always  very  modest  about  his  honors."  He  would  not 
be  downed,  and  his  letters,  even  when  things  were  going 
badly,  showed  only  a  fine  optimism  and  forgetfulness  of 
personal  troubles  in  doing  his  work.  Just  before  the 
offensive  of  August,  191 7,  he  fell  ill  with  a  severe  cold, 
but  "got  out  of  his  bed  to  take  part  in  the  fun.  He  was 
always  full  of  life  and  kept  everyone  in  good  humor." 
This  trait  of  helping  others  and  smiling  at  misfortune 
was  apparent  in  his  early  days  for  even  as  a  boy  he  was 
poised  and  considerate. 

His  schooling  was  all  had  in  Cambridge,  the  city  of  his 
birth,  where  his  home  was.  Much  interested  in  chem- 
istry, he  made  an  excellent  record  at  school,  although 
always  constitutionally  frail.  While  still  a  mere  lad  his 
attitude  toward  his  mother  was  that  of  a  protector. 
Charles  was  always  thoughtful  of  her,  trying  to  guard 
her  from  troubles  and  worries,  and  to  her  as  to  everyone 
else  his  presence  seemed  to  bring  courage  and  confidence. 
This  quality  of  easing  the  cares  of  others  he  carried 
through  all  his  life.  He  was,  in  the  words  of  his  mother, 
"So  big  for  a  little  fellow." 

Joining  Section  Seventy  of  the  Field  Service  in  France 
on  Independence  Day,  "Charlie"  served    through    the 

233 


CHARLES  BENJAMIN  KENDALL 


battles  along  the  Chemin  des  Dames  during  the  summer 
of   1917,   writing  jocularly  of  the  Malmaison  attack: 

"My  machine  was  hit  several  times  by  eclat 

There  were  several  times  that  I  would  not  have  given 
three  cents  for  my  hide  or  chances."     Again  he  said : 

"It  is  terrible.     I  wish  you  could  see  and  hear 

or  rather  I  thank  God  that  you  cannot."  Always  he  was 
full  of  fun  and  good-humored.  He  was  a  favorite  with 
the  French  —  officers  and  privates  alike.  He  spoke  their 
argot  and  made  a  point  of  learning  the  patois  of  the 
country.  After  each  offensive  he  was  the  first  to  be 
given  souvenirs  by  poilu  friends.  He  entered  into  the 
work,  reckless  of  himself  but  fastidiously  careful  of  his 
wounded,  volunteering  for  extra  duties.  Yet  through 
it  all  he  kept  his  characteristic  dry  humor,  and  jested 
most  when  situations  looked  blackest.  A  quip  was 
ever  quick  on  his  tongue,  but  it  was  always  a  kindly  one. 
Considerate,  loyal,  conscientious,  he  never  thought  of 
himself  save  as  one  more  pair  of  needed  hands  in  a  great 
work. 

After  the  Armistice,  weakened  by  the  gassing  he  had 
received  and  his  constant  labors,  Charles  fell  sick  with 
influenza,  entering  a  hospital  on  January  20,  1919. 
Bronchial-pneumonia  developed  and  despite  every  ef- 
fort of  doctors  and  nurses  he  died  quietly  on  February 
15th.  His  nurses  mentioned  especially  what  a  splendid 
patient  he  was.  He  wrote  "I  can't  come  home  quick 
enough,"  and  on  the  eleventh,  that  a  nurse  would  write 
his  mother  so  "that  you  won't  worry  because  you  have- 
n't heard  from  me."  "  I  've  been  very  sick  —  now  I  'm 
feeling  much  better."  Patient,  thoughtful  of  others, 
uncomplaining,  until  the  end,  he  lay  and  waited  for  his 
going  home. 


234 


CHARLES  BENJAMIN  KENDALL 

Born  August  ii,  1897,  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  Son  of  John  B.  and 
Mabel  Slade  Kendall.  Educated  Cambridge  High  and  Latin,  and  Hunting- 
ton Schools.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  June  25,  191 7 ;  attached  Sec- 
tion Seventy  to  September  7,  191 7.  Enlisted  U.  S.  A.  Ambulance  Service,. 
Section  16/634.  Wounded  and  received  Croix  de  Guerre,  December,  191 7. 
Transferred  October  24,  1918,  to  104th  U.  S.  Infantry.  Gassed,  November, 
1918,  Died  of  bronchial-pneumonia,  February  15,  1919,  at  American  Hos- 
pital, Langres.  Buried  Langres,  Haute-Marne.  Body  transferred  to  Mount 
Auburn  Cemetery,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 


RICHARD  MATHER  JOPLING 

Born  July  i6,  1893,  ^^  Marquette,  Michigan.  Son  of  James  Edmund  and 
Elizabeth  Mather  Jopling.  Educated  Fay  and  St.  Mark's  Schools,  South- 
boro,  Massachusetts,  and  Harvard  University,  Class  of  1916.  Plattsburg 
Camp,  1916.  With  New  York  Red  Cross,  1917.  Joined  American  Field 
Service,  September  13,  191 7;  attached  Section  Sixty-six.  Transferred  to 
U.  S.  Army  Ambulance  Service,  Section  66/623.  Croix  de  Guerre,  two 
citations.  Died  March  16,  1919,  in  London,  from  shell-shock  and  strain. 
Buried  Brockwood  Cemetery,  Surrey,  England. 


RICHARD  MATHER  JOPLING 

"Then  onward  still !  with  never  thought  of  rest, 
Till  all  the  tumult  of  the  world  is  past, — 
That,  with  a  conquering  courage  in  our  breast. 
We  may  be  men  at  last !" 

These  lines  of  Richard  Mather  Jopling's  form  almost  a 
text  of  his  life.  "I  have  n't  done  all  I  should  have  done 
or  could  have  done,"  he  wrote  his  mother  upon  his  grad- 
uation from  St.  Mark's  School  leaving  behind  him  de- 
spite his  words,  a  splendid  record  of  achievement ;  "  I  Ve 

a  debt  to  pay by  working  faithfully,  to  the  best 

of  my  ability,  all  through  my  life,"  and  this  purpose  made 
his  life  one  always  of  high  resolve.  "Dick"  was  a  true 
artist,  writing  real  music,  prose,  and  poetry.  Con- 
stitutionally delicate,  his  being  was  nevertheless  alive 
with  creative  fire  and  energy,  and  his  spirit  flamed  joy- 
ously high  or  flickered  low  in  despair.  But  always  to 
his  comrades  he  showed  only  smiling  good  cheer  to  help 
them  through  the  difficult  days.  Douglas  Stewart  men- 
tions  his   "glorious   incapability   of   realizing   his   own 

greatness "     He  never  realized  that  in  his  living, 

in  overcoming  an  inherent  timidity  and  physical  frailty, 
and  in  conquering  all  unfortunate  circumstances  he  gave 
inspiration  to  a  host  of  men.  Dr.  Thayer,  of  St.  Mark's, 
remembered  gratefully  his  "vision  of  the  poet  and  high 
purpose  of  the  prophet." 

A  sturdy  conscience  impelled  his  none-too-strong  body 
to  strenuous  work,  leading  at  the  last  to  a  heartbreaking 
death  from  nervous  breakdown,  after  "Dick"  had  en- 
dured unflinchingly  the  ordeal  of  battle.  The  constant 
tension,  the  sickening,  necessary  brutalities,  the  ever- 
present  sufferings  of  others,  all  the  bitterness  of  war  as- 
sailed and  hurt  him  more  deeply  than  most  because  of  his 
sensitive  nature,  and  finally  caused  his  death.  ^^;j 

"Dick"  loved  his  home  devotedly  and  it  was  a  lonely, 
homesick  little  fellow  who  left  Marquette  to  attend  Fay 
School  in  Southboro,  Massachusetts.     Mr.  Fay  makes 

235 


RICHARD  MATHER  JOPLING 


mention  of  his  "severe,  old-fashioned  ideals  of  right  and 
wrong,  of  duty  and  service  and  thoughtfulness  of  others." 
Going  then  to  St.  Mark's  "Dick"  entered  eagerly  into 
the  school  life.     Some  of  his  music  was  used  by  the 
chapel  choir,  for  already  his  genius  in  composing  was 
apparent,  and  his  stories  and  poems  appeared  in  the 
school  magazine.     Although  in  his  own  estimation  he 
was  lazy,  yet  he  accomplished  an  amazing  amount  of 
work.     Finishing  the  six-year  school  course  in  five  years, 
"Dick"  received  his  A.  B.  in  three,  spent  one  summer  at 
the  engineering  camp,  and  another  at  Plattsburg.     At 
Harvard,  as  an  editor  on  literary  and  musical  publica- 
tions, a  composer  of  music  for  the  "Pudding"  shows, 
and  a  senior  class  officer,  he  was  one  of  the  prominent 
and  best-liked  men  of  his  college  generation.     A  year  of 
graduate  study  was  followed  by  a  trip  to  South  and 
Central  America,   from  which  he  returned  in  time  to 
apply  for  Plattsburg  in  191 7.    Rejected  as  below  weight, 
he    underwent  in    three    months  a    surgical    treatment 
normally  taking  a  year,  but  even  with  strengthened  con- 
stitution, he  was  again  rejected.     He  immediately  sailed 
with  the  Field  Service,  and,  enlisting  as  a  private  in  the 
U.  S.  Army,  joined  Section  Sixty-six  on  the  Aisne.     Wil- 
liam G.  Rice,  Jr.,  his  chief,  had  "an  increasingly  high  re- 
gard for  his  loyal  friendship  and  dependable  work,  and 
his  skill  and  resourcefulness  as  an  ambulance  driver." 
His  piano  raised  their  spirits  and  morale,  for  "he  would 
play  happy  pieces  even  when  feeling  as  blue  as  the  rest 
of  us."     Upon  his  leaves,  too,  "Dick's"  playing  for  the 
"doughboys"  gathered  crowds  in  the  casino  at  Aix. 

In  London,  returning  from  a  visit  to  an  aunt  in  Eng- 
land, "the  strain  proved  too  great  and  broke  him  down 
at  last."  As  surely  as  if  killed  in  battle  he  gave  his  life 
for  the  good  cause.  Death  came  to  "Dick"  Jopling 
because  he  had  given  himself  utterly  in  service. 


236 


STEPHEN  RAYMOND  DRESSER 

The  first  and  youngest  going  to  war  from  his  home  town 
of  Westbrook,  Stephen  Dresser  gave  incentive  to  the 
enrolment  of  others  and  also  to  the  eager  grasping  by 
his  townspeople  of  the  various  opportunities  for  war  en- 
deavor. "He  gave  his  life  for  what  he  realized  to  be  the 
greatest  cause  in  the  world's  history.  And  throughout 
the  two  years  of  warfare  there  was  always  the  exaltation 
of  service  in  his  every  word  and  act." 

Speaking  of  Stephen's  youth  a  very  old  friend  of  the 
family  says  :  **  Those  who  knew  him  will  never  forget  his 
bright  young  face,  his  manner  so  courteous  to  young  and 
old  alike.  There  was  a  manliness  about  him  rare  for  his 
years,  and  yet,  with  it  all,  he  was  a  real  boy,  delighting 
in  the  good  things  of  boyhood."  As  he  grew  older 
"Steve"  strengthened  in  this  manliness  as  he  did  in 
body.  As  a  lad  of  nineteen  he  had  his  place  among  men. 
A  fellow  driver  says  "he  possessed  all  the  attributes  of  a 

good  soldier It  was  an  honor  to  have  been  a 

comrade    of   Steve's the    most    self-sacrificing 

and  bravest  man  I  ever  knew."  His  commander  says, 
"Steve  was  one  of  the  finest  fellows  that  went  across  .  . 
...  as  fine  as  I  knew."  As  a  child,  as  a  boy,  and  as  a 
young  man  Stephen  won  the  affection  and  respect  of 
comrades  and  acquaintances. 

In  boyhood  Stephen  was  ill  with  tuberculosis.  He  was 
in  bed  for  months  at  a  time,  yet  always  he  fought  the 
disease,  and  cheerily,  too.  "Never  discouraged,  or 
blue,  or  peevish  about  his  sickness,"  Stephen  disciplined 
himself  with  the  thought  that  "anything  that  ought  to 
be  done  he  could  do."  He  loved  people  and  was  gen- 
erous to  a  fault.  Big-hearted  and  helpful,  "Steve" 
was  loved  by  everyone. 

During  his  long  spells  of  illness  he  turned  much  to 
books,  which  gave  him  a  serious  side  unusual  in  a  boy. 
He  had,  nevertheless,  all  a  boy's  interests.  At  last,  a 
year  or  two  before  war  came,  thanks  greatly  to  his  will 

237 


STEPHEN  RAYMOND  DRESSER 


power,  an  absolute  cure  was  effected,  and  Stephen  freed 
of  the  burden  which  had  always  weighed  him  down, 
entered  enthusiastically  into  the  life  about  him.  His 
sympathies  were  early  roused  for  France  and  a  month 
before  his  high  school  class  graduated  Stephen  entered 
the  American  Field  Service.  Just  before  sailing  he 
wrote :  "We  both  know,  Dad,  what  I  am  going  into  and 
I  may  never  come  back,  but  it  is  worth  it  to  both  you 
and  me." 

In  May,  191 7,  "Steve"  joined  Section  Two  in  the 
Verdun  region.  For  its  work  at  this  time  near  Mort 
Homme  and  Esnes  the  Section  was  decorated,  and 
Stephen  received  his  first  Croix  de  Guerre.  Twice  later 
he  was  cited  by  the  French,  and  on  one  of  these  occa- 
sions "when  Steve  learned  he  was  to  be  decorated  he 
asked  that  the  medal  be  given  to  someone  who  had  not 
received  a  cross  before,"  but  the  lieutenant  refused  be- 
cause "of  all  the  men  to  be  decorated  he  had  done  most 
to  merit  it."  With  the  militarization  of  the  Ambulance 
Service  he  became  a  member  of  Section  552.  Through 
the  continued  trials  and  disconsolations  the  words  of  his 
friend  held  true:  "Steve  worked  uncomplainingly 
through  it  all  —  always  cheerful." 

After  the  Armistice  Stephen  broke  his  arm  and  spent 
some  months  at  hospitals  and  the  Shepard  convalescent 
home  where  earlier  he  had  been  sick  with  pneumonia 
and  shell-shock.  "One  of  our  favorite  boys,"  Mr. 
Shepard  called  him,  "you  can  be  proud  of  Steve." 
Stephen  died  in  Paris  on  March  19,  191 9.  The  remark 
of  Lieutenant  Gores  shows,  as  well  as  words  can,  Stephen 
Dresser's  fineness:  "No  braver  soldier  stood  and  as  a 
man  he  had  his  ideals  and  lived  strictly  up  to  them." 


238 


STEPHEN  RAYMOND  DRESSER 

Born  October  20,  1898,  in  Westbrook,  Maine,  Son  of  Ernest  L.  and  Hattie 
Raymond  Dresser.  Home,  Brookline,  Massachusetts.  Educated  private 
tutor  and  Westbrook  schools.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  26, 191 7, 
attached  Section  Two  until  September  26,  191 7.  Enlisted  as  private  in 
U.  S.  A.  Ambulance  Service,  Section  552.  Croix  de  guerre,  three  citations, 
and  American  citation.  Died  of  wounds  resulting  from  accident,  March 
19,  1919,  in  Paris.   Buried  Suresnes,  Seine. 


EDWARD  ILSLEY  TINKHAM 

Born  August  3,  1893,  at  Radnor,  Pennsylvania,  Son  of  Julian  R.  and  Mary 
M.  L.  Tinkham.  Educated  Montclair  Academy  and  Cornell  University, 
Class  of  1 916.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  February  26,  1916  ;  attached 
Sections  Three  and  Four  in  France  to  November  23,  1916.  Returned  to 
America  and  college.  Organized  Cornell  unit.  Rejoined  Field  Service, 
March  20,  1917;  attached  Transport  Section  526.  Commandant  Adjoint 
to  September  18,  1917.  Croix  de  Guerre.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Naval  Aviation; 
trained  Mouchic,  France.  Commissioned  Flight  Ensign,  July,  1918.  To 
Porto  Corsini,  Italy.  Italian  War  Cross  and  U.  S.  Navy  Cross.  Died 
March  30,  1919,  of  meningitis  and  pneumonia,  at  Ravenna,  Italy.  Cre- 
mated at  Bologna.  Ashes  deposited  in  the  Muro  perpetuo  of  the  Cemetery, 
Ravenna,  Italy. 


EDWARD  ILSLEY  TINKHAM 

Slender,  with  regular  features,  clear  eyes,  and  a  fair 
complexion,  "Ed"  Tinkham  at  first  glance  always  gave 
one  the  impression  of  being  younger  than  he  was.  Yet 
there  was  about  him  an  air  of  determination  and  in- 
tensity of  purpose  which  belied  his  youthful  appearance. 

He  entered  Cornell  University  in  191 2  and  was  prom- 
inent in  track  athletics  as  a  member  of  both  the  varsity 
track  and  cross-country  teams.  In  the  middle  of  his 
senior  year,  February,  191 6,  he  applied  for  a  leave  of  ab- 
sence to  join  the  American  Field  Service.  The  late 
winter  and  early  spring  of  that  year  he  spent  with  Sec- 
tion Three  in  Lorraine,  and  in  June,  when  the  Section 
was  moved  to  the  battle  front  of  Verdun,  he  distin- 
guished himself  for  bravery  and  was  awarded  the  Croix 
de  Guerre.  In  the  fall,  on  the  departure  of  Section 
Three  for  the  Orient,  he  was  transferred  to  Section  Four 
where  he  remained  until  late  in  November. 

After  nine  months  of  service,  and  while  America  still 
held  aloof,  he  returned  to  Cornell  to  complete  his  college 
course,  and  get  his  degree  of  B.S.  But  with  his  heart 
full  of  the  struggle  which  France  was  making,  he  found 
it  impossible  to  settle  down  to  civilian  life  and  immedi- 
ately began  to  devote  all  his  spare  time  to  organizing  a 
Cornell  Unit  for  the  Field  Service.  He  succeeded  in  en- 
rolling, by  the  end  of  March,  191 7,  a  unit  of  thirty-five 
men  which  made  up  the  first  body  of  Cornell  men  to  ar- 
rive in  France.  One  of  his  comrades  wrote  of  him  on 
the  trip  over  :  "  *  Ed '  Tinkham  is  the  recognized  leader  of 
the  unit  and  whatever  he  says  goes.  No  one  could  be 
more  devoted  to  our  welfare  and  there  is  something 
about  the  quiet  way  he  handles  things  and  looks  after 
us  that  makes  everyone  love  and  respect  him." 

Arriving  in  France  the  latter  part  of  April,  the  Cornell 
unit  was  selected  as  the  first  contingent  of  the  camion 
corps  just  being  organized,  and  on  May  8,  191 7,  left  for 
the  hastily  organized  training  camp  in  the  forest  of 

239 


EDWARD  ILSLEY  TINKHAM 


Dommiers  near  Soissons.  This  unit,  under  Tinkham's 
leadership,  is  generally  conceded  to  be  the  first  organ- 
ized group  to  go  to  the  front  carrying  the  American 
Flag. 

After  five  months  on  the  Aisne  front  in  the  camion 
service,  where  he  proved  himself  a  wise  officer  and 
leader,  he  resigned  from  the  Field  Service  and  enlisted 
in  the  American  Naval  Aviation  Forces  just  arrived  in 
France.  He  was  commissioned  a  Flight  Ensign  in  July, 
191 8,  and  was  sent  to  the  Naval  Aviation  Station  at 
Porto  Corsini,  Italy,  where  he  served  until  the  armistice, 
patroling  the  Adriatic,  and  in  the  operations  against  the 
Austrian  Naval  Base  of  Pola.  He  was  cited  for  the 
Italian  War  Cross  at  Porto  Corsini  in  191 8,  and  subse- 
quently for  the  U.  S.  Navy  Cross.  Soon  after  the  Armis- 
tice he  was  taken  sick  and  was  transferred  to  the  Italian 
Military  Hospital  at  Ravenna  where  he  died  of  menin- 
gitis and  pneumonia  on  March  30,  1919. 

"Ed"  Tinkham's  military  career  will  be  for  those  who 
knew  him  but  the  natural  expression  of  his  loyal  per- 
sonality. He  was  one  of  the  earliest  from  his  Alma 
Mater  to  learn  at  first  hand,  months  before  his  country 
entered  the  war,  what  the  struggle  meant  and  his  posi- 
tion in  her  annals  is  unique.  The  following  verses  from 
a  tribute  by  Professor  A.  B.  Recknagel,  which  appeared 
in  the  "Cornell  Forester"  soon  after  his  death  bear  wit- 
ness to  the  fact : 

"As  the  first  song  birds  of  returning  Spring 
Bring  hope  and  vigor  after  Winter's  dearth, 
So  Tinkham  with  his  band  of  Cornell  youths 
An  earnest  was  of  greater  help  to  come 
And  of  our  country  girding  for  the  strife. 


"  Consumed  as  with  a  bright  fierce  flame 
Of  patriotic  fervor,  he  is  not  dead 
Whom  once  we  knew  and  loved. 
He  is  translated,  apotheosized 
As  One  who  also  loved  humanity." 


240 


JAMES  SNODGRASS  BROWN 

His  brother  has  written  of  him:  "He  was  the  type  of 
boy  who  always  cared  a  great  deal  for  soldier  life  and 
anything  that  might  have  an  element  of  risk  in  it,  al- 
ways being  the  ring-leader  when  there  was  any  mischief 
afoot.  While  at  high  school  and  at  Staunton  he  played 
football  and  was  known  as  a  very  fast,  hard  hitting 
player."  On  being  graduated  from  the  Staunton  Mili- 
tary Academy,  he  entered  business  with  his  father  where 
he  remained  until  shortly  after  his  father's  death.  Then, 
with  a  boy's  spirit  of  adventure  and  a  desire  to  see  some- 
thing of  his  own  country  he  set  out  with  a  companion  of 
his  own  age  for  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  two  started  with 
only  moderate  funds  and  worked  their  way  to  and  from 
California,  obtaining  employment  on  cattle  ranches,  in 
moving  picture  studios,  or  anywhere  they  could  find 
work. 

After  such  an  experience,  life  in  a  New  York  office 
seemed  insufferable  and  as  trouble  with  Mexico  was 
pending,  he  welcomed  the  opportunity  to  enlist  with  the 
First  Cavalry,  Troop  C,  of  Brooklyn,  and  went  with 
that  squadron  to  the  Mexican  border.  His  was  one  of 
the  last  formations  to  be  sent  home  and  his  discharge 
gave  him  an  excellent  character.  On  his  return  he 
entered  the  employ  of  A.  G.  Spaulding  and  Brother  as  a 
salesman  in  their  New  York  office,  but  found  it  extremely 
difficult  to  adapt  himself  to  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life^ 
particularly  after  this  country  declared  war  on  Germany.. 
On  June  30,  191 7,  he  left  for  France  as  a  member  of  the 
American  Field  Service. 

His  ambition  was  to  serve  in  a  camion  section,  but  as 
the  need  just  then  was  for  ambulance  drivers,  he  was 
sent  to  the  front  with  Ambulance  Section  Seventy-One 
which  took  over  its  quota  of  Fiat  cars  at  Noyon  on  July 
31,  1 91 7.  They  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  summer 
around  Noyon  in  action  in  the  Saint-Quentin  sector. 
Brown  was  acting  Sous-Chef  of  the  Section  and  when  the 

241 


JAMES  SNODGRASS  BROWN 


United  States  Army  took  over  the  Field  Service  he  en- 
listed in  the  United  States  Army  Ambulance  Service  and 
was  given  the  rank  of  Sergeant,  first  Class,  and  continued 
his  work  at  the  front.  He  was  twice  gassed,  once  in 
October,  191 7,  and  again  the  following  year,  and  was 
awarded  a  "  Medal  of  Honor"  with  citation  by  the  French 
Government  for  his  work  during  a  grippe  epidemic 
among  the  French  soldiers. 

During  the  latter  part  of  his  stay  in  France  he  suf- 
fered from  the  effects  of  gas  and  diabetes  and  was  for  a 
time  transferred  to  the  Provisional  Battalion  in  Paris. 
He  arrived  in  Hoboken,  on  the  U.  S.  Transport  Mobile, 
April  23,  191 9,  in  a  semi-conscious  condition  and  was 
taken  immediately  to  the  United  States  Embarkation 
Hospital  No.  i  where,  three  days  later,  he  died.  His 
commanding  officer  wrote  of  him  in  a  letter  to  his  brother  : 
"Your  brother  served  under  my  command  as  assistant 
sergeant-major  during  the  most  critical  period  of  the 
war.  His  loyalty,  energy,  faithfulness,  and  devotion 
are  such  that  I  cannot  put  into  words  my  appreciation 
of  his  services.  I  feel  that  his  death  is  not  only  that  of  a 
valued  and  trusted  assistant,  but  that  of  a  warm  per- 
sonal friend  as  well." 


242 


JAMES  SNODGRASS  BROWN 

Born  February  lo,  1893,  in  New  York  City.  Son  of  Willard  P.  and  Mae 
McHenry  Brown.  Educated  Mount  Vernon  High  School,  New  York,  and 
Staunton  Military  Academy,  Virginia.  Business  with  W.  P.  Brown  and 
Sons.  Troop  C,  ist  N.  Y.  Cavalry.  Seven  months  Mexican  Border.  Busi- 
ness with  A.  G.  Spaulding  and  Bro.   Joined  American  Field  Service,  June 

30,  191 7;  attached  Sections  Seventy-one  and  Twenty-nine,  until  August 

31,  191 7.  Transferred  to  U.  S.  A.  Ambulance  Service.  Ill  in  Paris.  Ar- 
rived in  America,  April  23,  1919.  Died  April  26,  1919,  in  Embarkation 
Hospital  Number  One,  Hoboken,  New  Jersey,  of  diabetes  and  gas-poison- 
ing.  Buried  in  New  Rochelle,  New  York. 


EDWARD  NEWELL  WARE,  Junior 

Born  April  5,  1892,  at  Florence,  Wisconsin,  Son  of  Reverend  Edward  N. 
and  Cora  Willis  Ware.  Home,  Chicago,  Illinois.  Educated  Lake  View  High 
School,  Chicago.  Business,  four  years.  Northwestern  University,  Evans- 
ton,  Illinois,  Class  of  1919.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  5th,  191 7  ; 
attached  Section  Thirteen.  Enlisted  U.  S.  A.  Ambulance  Service  with 
French  Army.  Gassed  November,  191 7,  near  Verdun.  Joined  Hoover  Food 
Commission,  February,  1919,  at  Paris.  Died  of  smallpox  at  Bucharest, 
Roumania,  May  7,  1919.   Buried  Military  Cemetery,  Bucharest. 


EDWARD  NEWELL  WARE,  Junior 

With  a  sensitive,  artistic  mind,  "interested  in  books, 
architecture,  art,  and  music,"  Edward  Newell  Ware,  Jr., 
combined  unusual  firmness  of  mind  and  sturdiness  of 
character.  Unwilling  to  continue  college  after  his  fresh- 
man year  because  of  the  burden  upon  his  father's  shoul- 
ders, he  gave  up  his  cherished  hopes  and  set  resolutely 
to  work  in  a  field  for  which  he  had  no  love,  but  which  he 
mastered  so  completely  that,  at  the  end  of  four  years, 
he  was  able  to  resume  his  place  in  the  School  of  Engi- 
neering of  Northwestern  University.  He  was  initiated 
into  the  Beta  Theta  Pi  fraternity  and  became  a  leader 
in  its  activities, —  "an  inspiration  to  all  who  were  as- 
sociated with  him."  "Architecture  was  his  goal,"  says 
his  mother,  "to  which  his  constructive  ability  and  his 
appreciation  of  art  led  him."  He  advanced  rapidly  and 
stood  high  on  the  Honor  Roll  for  scholarship  when  the 
war  made  a  second  and  final  interruption  of  his  career. 
He  enlisted  in  the  American  Field  Service  and  sailed  for 
France  on  May  5,  1917. 

He  gave  himself  as  wholeheartedly  to  the  work  of 
transporting  wounded  as  to  everything  else  he  had  ever 
undertaken.  "He  was  the  most  courageous  and  fearless 
of  us,"  says  a  comrade ;  and  others  speak  of  "his  won- 
derful devotion  to  his  wounded,"  and  of  his  self-sac- 
rificing helpfulness  on  all  occasions.  In  November, 
191 7,  he  was  badly  gassed,  but  his  love  of  action  and 
desire  to  be  with  the  Section  soon  brought  him  back 
from  the  hospital  where  he  might  have  had  a  much 
longer  convalescence.  He  was  loved  by  his  companions, 
as  he  had  been  at  college,  not  only  for  the  strange  beauty 
of  his  nature,  but  also  for  his  courageous  independence 
of  spirit  which  led  him,  regardless  of  consequence,  into 
generous  and  brotherly  acts.  With  instinctive  sym- 
pathy for  the  "under  dog,"  he  used  to  be  particularly 
friendly  to  fellows  in  the  Section  who,  through  some  ac- 
cident or  slight  fault,  had  become  temporarily  unpopu- 

243 


EDWARD  NEWELL  WARE,  Junior 


lar.  Music  was  the  great  comfort  and  delight  of  his 
life.  It  exalted  him,  lifting  him  above  the  "dreadful 
circumstance  of  war"  into  the  beautiful  places  where 
his  delicate  and  impressionable  imagination  wandered 
joyous  and  free.  It  was  this  imagination  of  his  that 
made  him  so  keenly  alive  to  the  horror  and  suffering  of 
war,  and  caused  him  to  bear  equally  with  his  wounded 
the  pain  caused  by  long  journeys  over  frightful  roads. 

After  the  Armistice,  instead  of  returning  home  with 
his  unit,  Newell  volunteered  his  services  to  the  Hoover 
Food  Commission,  and  after  serving  for  a  short  time  in 
Paris,  was  sent  out  with  a  small  contingent  to  bring 
help  to  the  poor  and  suffering  of  Roumania.  He  re- 
joiced in  what  he  referred  to  as  "this  very  minor  sort 
of  role  in  the  economic  reconstruction  of  a  romantic 
story  book  country,  poor  Roumania."  It  was  while 
working  in  the  midst  of  famine  and  disease  that  he  con- 
tracted smallpox,  from  which  he  died  on  May  7,  1919. 
He  was  buried  with  full  military  honors  in  the  cemetery 
of  Bucharest. 

Neweirs  sympathies  were  broad  and  quick,  his  gen- 
erosity ready  and  open,  and  his  character  unflinchingly 
upright.  The  many  friends  who  wrote  to  his  mother 
on  learning  of  his  death  were  all  impressed  by  the  fact 
that  by  no  word  or  deed  had  he  ever  swerved  the  least 
bit  from  "the  high  ideals  of  pure,  true  manhood  which 
he  held."  "He  not  only  stood  for  the  right  and  best," 
says  his  fraternity  paper,  "but  he  had  the  supreme 
courage  of  his  convictions."  It  is  this  completeness  of 
his  spiritual  and  moral  development  that  alone  can 
lessen  the  tragedy  of  his  unrealized  hopes  and  ambitions. 


244 


HUGO  WING  FALES 

Many  of  the  men  who  volunteered  for  the  American 
Field  Service  were  young  fellows  still  in  college,  free  of 
responsibility,  whose  departure  did  not  include  giving 
up  a  hard-won  position  in  the  world.  Hugo  Wing  Fales 
went  with  the  same  ready  spirit  of  sacrifice  that  moved 
them  all,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  for  him  it  meant  making 
the  climb  in  business  all  over  again  when  he  should  come 
back.  He  was  twenty-six  years  old  with  a  successful 
record  as  salesman  for  a  silk  manufacturing  concern 
when,  in  July,  191 7,  he  sailed  for  France.  He  went  out 
to  the  front  in  the  camion  branch  joining  Section  397, 
and  when  the  American  Field  Service  was  taken  over  by 
the  United  States  Army,  he  enlisted  in  the  American 
Mission,  continuing  his  work  as  a  truck  driver  with  the 
French  army.  His  ability  as  a  driver  and  his  knowledge 
of  machinery  caused  him  to  be  included,  shortly  after 
his  enlistment,  among  those  to  attend  a  course  at  Chau- 
vigny  for  instructors.  After  graduating  from  this  school 
in  January,  191 8,  he  was  made  an  instructor  for  American 
truck  drivers  at  Pont  St.  Maixent  and  later  at  Motor 
Transport  School  Number  One.  On  November  11, 
1 91 8,  he  was  commissioned  a  Second  Lieutenant  of  the 
M.  T.  C.  and  assigned  to  duty  as  assistant  to  the  Motor 
Transport  Officer  at  Bourges.  Throughout  the  dreary 
winter  and  spring  that  followed  the  armistice  he  worked 
at  his  uninspired  task  with  unflagging  cheerfulness, 
never  complaining  even  when  troops  with  half  his  length 
of  service  went  past  him  on  their  way  home,  while  he 
stayed  apparently  anchored  to  his  desk  for  all  time.  His 
commanding  officer.  Captain  Russell  H.  Bird,  says  that 
"at  all  times  he  proved  himself  an  untiring  and  energetic 
worker,  with  a  sunny  disposition  and  a  kind  word  for 
everyone."  It  was  a  time  when  it  took  all  a  man's 
buoyancy  of  spirit  just  to  keep  smiling,  yet  Hugo  always 
managed  to  create  an  atmosphere  of  cheeriness  even 
when  his  heart  ached  most  for  home.     In  his  letters  he 

245 


HUGO  WING  FALES 


betrayed  very  little  of  his  real  feelings.  In  the  last  one, 
written  eight  days  before  his  death,  there  is  no  word  of 
complaint, —  simply  the  casual  reference,  "  I  don't  ex- 
pect to  get  to  go  before  July  15th.  It  seems  a  long  time, 
doesn't  it,  but  the  time  flies." 

Colonel  David  L.  Stone  of  the  General  Staff  has  given 
the  following  account  of  the  accident  that  caused  Hugo's 
death. 

"The  Motor  Transport  Park  where  your  son  was  on 
duty  is  located  near  the  proving  grounds  or  target  range 

for  a  French  artillery  depot On  the  morning 

of  May  2nd  a  shrapnel  shell  being  fired  on  the  French 
proving  grounds  burst  prematurely  in  mid-air  and  by 
some  freak  of  the  explosion  part  of  the  shell  was  pro- 
jected way  to  one  side,  crashing  through  the  roof  of  the 
office  and  striking  your  son  in  the  hip.  Every  medical 
attention  was  at  once  administered  and  Captain  Bird, 
his  commanding  officer,  offered  to  have  his  own  blood 
transmitted  to  your  son  in  order  to  compensate  for  ex- 
cessive bleeding,  but  the  shock  of  the  large  piece  of 
metal  passing  through  your  son's  body  was  too  great 
for  him  to  recover." 

He  was  game  to  the  very  end.  When  he  was  given 
cocaine  he  said  smilingly,  "If  I  had  known  it  was  so 
easy  to  take  dope,  I  would  have  tried  it  long  ago." 

Colonel  Stone  concluded  his  report  with  the  words 
"I  know  that  he  was  universally  loved  and  respected 
by  all  officers  and  men,"  and  this  opinion  was  held  by 
everyone  who  came  in  contact  with  him.  The  words 
of  his  chaplain,  Edward  J.  Smith,  might  stand  for  all,  "I 
doubt  if  there  was  an  officer  more  popular  with  his  men 
or  more  highly  esteemed  by  his  fellow  officers  for  the 
fine  soldierly  qualities  he  displayed." 


246 


HUGO  WING  FALES 

Born  March  17,  1892,  in  Belding,  Michigan.  Son  of  Elmer  E.  and  Clara 
Palmer  Fales.  Educated  Belding  High  School  and  Ferris  Institute.  Six 
years  with  Belding  Brothers  &  Company,  silk  manufacturers.  Joined  Amer- 
ican Field  Service,  August  7,  191 7;  attached  Transport  Section  397  until 
November  13,  1917.  Enlisted  U.  S.  Motor  Transport  Corps ;  attached  Sec- 
tion 242.  Commissioned  Second  Lieutenant,  M.  T.  C,  November  11,  1918. 
Killed  by  accidental  explosion  of  shell,  Bourges,  May  2,  1919.  Buried  at 
Bourges,  Cher. 


KRAMER  CORE  TABLER 

Born  April  2,  1895,  in  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia.  Son  of  Professor  Daniel 
C.  and  Ella  Core  Tabler.  Educated  Parkersburg  High  School  and  Marietta 
College,  Ohio,  Class  of  1920.  Joined  American  Field  Service,  May  26,  191 7  ; 
attached  Transport  Section  184  to  November  20,  191 7.  Enlisted  U.  S. 
Aviation,  January,  1918.  Trained  French  schools.  Commissioned  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant,  May  8,  1918.  Instructor,  First  Air  Depot,  Colombey-les- 
Belles.  First  Lieutenant,  May  12,  1919.  Killed  in  aeroplane  accident.  May 
16,  1 9 19,  Colombey-les-Belles.  Buried  CoIombey-les-Belles,  Meurthe-et- 
Moselle. 


KRAMER  CORE  TABLER 

On  the  very  eve  of  his  departure  from  camp,  having  just 
received  his  commission  as  First  Lieutenant  and  his 
sailing  orders  to  return  to  America,  Lieutenant  Kramer 
Core  Tabler  met  his  tragic  death. 

On  the  1 6th  of  May,  19 19,  while  rendering  his  last 
service  in  instructing  a  fellow  officer  to  fly,  the  plane 
carrying  both  men  "crashed"  from  a  distance  of  about 
one  thousand  feet,  burst  into  flames,  and  the  two  officers 
were  instantly  killed.  On  the  following  day,  the  same 
on  which  he  was  to  have  left  to  go  to  a  port  of  embarka- 
tion for  America,  he  and  his  comrade  were  tenderly 
buried  in  a  little  cemetery  in  France,  with  forty-two 
other  Americans,  near  the  field  where  they  fell. 

Beloved  by  all  who  knew  him,  Lieutenant  Tabler  had, 
indeed,  in  his  two  years  of  service,  "played  his  part  and 
proved  himself  a  man." 

The  grandson  of  Brigadier  General  Andrew  S.  Core, 
of  the  Civil  War,  he  was  born  in  Parkersburg,  West 
Virginia,  April  2,  1895.  He  graduated  from  the  Parkers- 
burg High  School  in  1 91 3.  In  the  fall  of  191 6  he  entered 
Marietta  College  with  just  ten  dollars  in  his  pocket  and  a 
lively  determination  to  earn  his  way.  Then  the  menace 
of  war  beckoned  to  us,  and  in  the  spring  of  191 7  young 
Tabler  enlisted  in  the  "Marietta  Unit"  for  which  his 
college  equipped  and  sent  twenty  boys  to  France.  They 
sailed  from  New  York,  May  26th,  arriving  in  France, 
June  4th,  where  they  drove  camions  for  the  American 
Field  Service.  Young  Tabler  served  in  this  capacity 
until  November  20th. 

Instead  of  returning  to  America  at  the  expiration  of 
his  enlistment  with  the  American  Field  Service  he  re- 
mained in  France  and  the  following  January  he  entered 
the  American  Aviation.  He  was  immediately  sent  to  a 
training  school,  from  which  he  was  commissioned  a 
Second  Lieutenant  and  Pilot,  May  8,  191 8. 

Instead  of  being  sent  to  the  front  immediately,  he  was 

247 


KRAMER  CORE  TABLER 


stationed  at  the  First  Air  Depot  in  Colombey-les-Belles 
where  he  remained,  as  a  flying  instructor,  during  the  rest 
of  the  war,  and  until  the  spring  of  191 9,  when  he  met  his 
death. 

All  those  who  saw  Lieutenant  Tabler,  testify  to  his 
being  the  most  daring  of  all  the  officers  at  the  First  Air 
Depot,  and  one  of  the  most  loved.  The  day  he  was 
killed,  according  to  his  comrades  in  the  camp,  was  the 
bluest  of  all  their  days  over  there. 

Kramer  Tabler  was  always  happy,  and  glad  just  to  be 
alive.  The  most  companionable  of  boys,  he  naturally 
made  friends  readily,  and  held  them  to  him  by  bonds  of 
deep  affection.  He  was  a  great  sportsman,  loving  ac- 
tivity, competition,  good  clean  fun.  His  home  he  rev- 
erenced and  idolized  and  loved  beyond  all  else  —  as  he 
was  loved  in  return  there,  and  wherever  he  went. 

Yet  he  renounced  all  this,  like  thousands  of  others,  to 
do  the  task  which  lay  unquestionably  before  him  — 
before  all  of  his  kind.  With  the  precious  gift  of  his  life 
he  contributed  to  the  greatest  moral  victory  of  all  his- 
tory. 

This  poem  by  an  ambulance  man  of  Section  Sixty- 
Five,  might  well  have  been  his  song  : 

"Where  I  shall  fall  upon  my  battleground 
There  may  I  rest  —  nor  carry  me  away. 
What  holier  hills  could  in  these  days  be  found 
Than  hills  of  France  to  hold  a  soldier's  clay  ? 
Nor  need  ye  place  the  cross  of  wooden  stuff 
Over  my  head  to  mark  my  age  and  name ; 
This  very  ground  is  monument  enough  ! 
'T  is  all  I  wish  of  show  or  outward  fame. 
Deep  in  the  hearts  of  fellow  countrymen 
My  first  immortal  sepulchre  shall  be, 
Greater  than  all  the  tombs  of  ancient  kings. 
What  matter  where  my  dust  shall  scatter  then  ? 
I  shall  have  served  my  country  overseas 
And  loved  her  —  dying  with  a  heart  that  sings." 

R.  W.  G. 


248 


FRANK  HOPKINS,  Junior 

Frank  Hopkins,  Jr.,  was  a  little  older  than  most  of  the 
men  in  the  American  Field  Service,  but  in  his  enthusiasm 
and  eagerness  to  see  action  he  was  almost  boyish.  On 
November  20,  191 7,  he  wrote,  "At  last,  at  last !  Tonight 
at  suppertime  came  the  long-looked  for  and  impatiently- 
awaited  '  ordre  de  mouvement,'  and  it  looks  as  though  we 
would  get  to  see  the  front!"  But  the  orders  were 
countermanded,  and  it  was  not  until  some  weeks  later 
that  his  Section  was  finally  on  its  way  to  the  Chemin  des 
Dames.  Frank's  letters  from  the  front  were  extraor- 
dinarily restrained,  with  hardly  a  reference  to  the  fact 
of  war.  He  wrote  often  and  at  length,  but  confined 
himself  to  telling  of  the  routine  of  section  life  and  of  his 
personal  relations  with  the  other  men.  There  is  not  a 
single  mention  of  shelling  or  of  danger  of  any  kind, 
though  Section  Sixty-Five  saw  a  great  deal  of  fighting 
and  suffered  its  share  of  casualties.  Through  his  cor- 
respondence we  see  him  as  a  man  of  humor,  who  saw  life 
clearly  and  simply,  with  a  healthy  matter-of-factness. 

In  August,  1 91 7,  Frank  enlisted  in  the  American  Field 
Service,  sailing  with  the  Syracuse  University  Unit,  and 
left  Paris  with  Section  Sixty- Five  which  had  just  been 
taken  over  by  the  army,  and  which  was  at  that  time 
stationed  at  a  rest  camp. 

There  is  nothing  more  deadly  than  a  prolonged  repos, 
particularly  to  one  who  has  never  seen  the  front  and  is 
all  anxiety  lest  the  war  be  over  before  he  gets  there,  but 
Frank's  sense  of  humor  saved  him  from  utter  discourage- 
ment. On  November  22d,  after  the  Section  had  made  a 
futile  move  to  another  rest  camp  he  wrote  disappointedly 
but  philosophically,  **  Anyway  we  are  seeing  a  little  of 
France  —  about  twenty  miles  in  two  months.  In  De- 
cember with  undampened  spirits,  though  with  the  added 
discomfort  of  the  cold  to  depress  him,  he  wrote,  **The 
business  of  war  seems  to  have  struck  a  dull  season,  but 
I  guess  there  is  no  danger  of  the  help  being  laid  off." 

249 


FRANK  HOPKINS,  Junior 


The  Section,  however,  made  up  for  its  long  idleness  by 
getting  into  the  midst  of  the  action  that  marked  the  fol- 
lowing spring  and  summer.  Frank  was  constitutionally 
delicate  and  the  exhausting  work  weakened  his  powers 
of  resistance  to  any  sickness  that  might  be  in  the  air. 
Towards  the  end  of  September  he  was  evacuated  for 
grippe  and  wrote  from  Base  Camp  —  "I  should  be  able 
to  rejoin  the  Section  soon,  as  they  need  every  man  now. 
And  here  I  am  down  here  —  sick  —  and  missing  the  fun 
and  excitement  up  there."  A  year  of  war  had  not  in  the 
least  quenched  his  enthusiasm. 

After  a  few  arduous  weeks  at  Base  Camp  he  managed 
to  get  sent  to  Paris,  to  the  haven  of  all  Field  Service  men, 
21  rue  Raynouard,  from  which  he  wrote,  "Here  I  am 
home  again,  or  so  it  seems  to  me  —  the  old  Field  Service 
headquarters  —  the  first  place  that  made  us  feel  at 
home  in  this  foreign  land!"  He  remembered  his  con- 
valescing there  as  one  of  the  bright  spots  of  his  life  in 
France  and  often  referred  to  the  care  he  received  and 
the  attention  with  which  he  was  treated.  He  arrived 
at  the  front  again  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  last  splendid 
drive,  writing  on  November  4th  that  his  division  had 
just  made  "a  fine  advance  of  forty  kilometers  or  more." 

After  the  Armistice,  Section  Sixty-Five  followed  its 
French  division  into  Germany  as  a  part  of  the  Army  of 
Occupation  until  the  last  days  of  March,  191 9,  when  it 
was  called  back  to  Base  Camp  at  Ferrieres  and  eventually 
sent  home.  On  June  5th  of  the  same  year  Frank  died 
at  General  Hospital  No.  5,  Fort  Ontario,  New  York,  of 
valvular  disease  of  the  heart.  The  manner  of  his  death 
was  tragic,  but  no  one  who  knew  him  can  ever  doubt 
that  he  met  it  with  the  same  smiling  courage  and  ready 
enthusiasm  that  he  had  carried  across  the  sea  into  his 
other  Great  Adventure. 


250 


Pi 

1 

FRANK  HOPKINS,  Junior 

Born  March  2,  1888,  in  Syracuse,  New  York.  Son  of  Frank  and  Mary 
Lally  Hopkins.  Educated  Syracuse  Central  High  School  and  Syracuse 
University,  Class  of  19 10.  Practiced  law.  Joined  American  Field  Service, 
August  16,  191 7  ;  attached  Section  Sixty-five.  Transferred  to  U.  S.  Am- 
bulance Service,  Section  552.  Returned  to  America,  March,  19 19.  Died  of 
heart  disease,  June  5,  19 19,  at  General  Hospital  No.  5,  Fort  Ontario,  New 
York.   Buried  in  St.  Agnes  Cemetery,  Syracuse,  New  York. 


JERRY  THOMAS  ILLICH 

Born  April  30,  1893,  in  Los  Angeles,  California.  Son  of  Jerry  and  Helen 
Stovell  lUich.  Home,  San  Diego,  California.  Educated  Belmont  School, 
California,  and  University  of  California,  Class  of  1913.  Farming.  Joined 
American  Field  Service,  December  30,  1915;  attached  Section  Three  to 
May  22,  1916.  Returned  to  America.  Subsequently  enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation 
at  Chico,  California.  Trained  University  of  California  and  Rockwell  Field, 
San  Diego.  Commissioned  First  Lieutenant,  January  9,  191 7.  Trained 
Camp  Dick,  Texas,  Fort  Sill,  Oklahoma,  and  Camp  Columbia,  South 
Carolina.  Sailed  for  France,  September  13,  1918.  Attached  278th  Aero 
Squadron.  Killed  in  accident,  April  7,  1919,  at  Toul.  Buried  American 
Cemetery,  Toul,  Meurthe-et-Moselle.  Body  transferred  to  Thiaucourt, 
Meurthe-et-Moselle. 


JERRY  THOMAS  ILLICH 

After  five  months  with  a  Field  Service  section  on  the 
Lorraine  front,  to  have  gone  back  to  the  United  States 
to  enter  the  aviation  branch  of  the  army,  to  have  trained 
in  various  parts  of  the  country  and  then  finally,  having 
returned  to  the  front  in  the  278th  Aero  Squadron  with 
prospects  of  immediate  active  service,  and  then  to  have 
lost  his  life  in  a  sudden  and  avoidable  accident  —  this 
was  the  tragic  misfortune  of  Jerry  Illich.  Nor  was  that 
all.  Adding  to  the  bitterness  of  the  tragedy,  two  other 
American  lives  were  needlessly  sacrificed  in  a  heart-' 
broken  effort  to  pay  homage  to  Illich. 

The  unfortunate  accident  at  Toul  is  described  by  II- 
lich's  sister,  as  follows  : 

"On  April  7,  19 19,  Lieutenant  Illich  and  four  others 
were  walking  across  a  field  where  there  were  several 
hangars  and  planes  'warming  up.'  Suddenly  one 
started  to  take  off.  An  officer  about  forty  feet  in  front 
of  my  brother  saw  him,  ran,  and  yelled  a  warning  at  the 
same  time.  But  my  brother  turned  to  see  what  was 
coming  and  found  the  machine  so  close  that  he  threw 
himself  on  the  ground,  thinking  the  plane  would  rise 
above  him.  But  the  pilot  was  unable  to  do  this,  and 
the  plane's  wheel  hit  my  brother  between  the  shoulders, 
crushing  his  heart.     He  lived  only  a  few  minutes. 

"The  Lieutenant  in  the  plane  that  killed  my  brother 

was  beside  himself and  the  day  of  the  funeral, 

wanted  to  pay  a  final  tribute  by  showering  flowers  upon 
the  cortege.  While  doing  this  he  crashed  into  another 
machine,  above  the  grave,  and  the  two  came  down,  one 
in  flames,  the  other  a  total  wreck.  Both  pilots  were 
instantly  killed.  They  now  lie  beside  my  brother  in  the 
cemetery  at  Toul." 

Jerry  Illich's  devotion  to  duty  was  described  by  a 
friend  in  a  letter  written  when  the  former  first  vol- 
unteered for  service  in  France  :  "Jerry  wishes  to  go  and 
serve  in  the  ambulance  unit,  knowing  that  such  adven- 

251 


JERRY  THOMAS  ILLICH 

Born  April  30,  1893,  in  Los  Angeles,  California.  Son  of  Jerry  and  Helen 
Stovell  lUich.  Home,  San  Diego,  California,  Educated  Belmont  School, 
California,  and  University  of  California,  Class  of  1913.  Farming.  Joined 
American  Field  Service,  December  30,  1915  ;  attached  Section  Three  to 
May  22,  1916.  Returned  to  America.  Subsequently  enlisted  U.  S.  Aviation 
at  Chico,  California.  Trained  University  of  California  and  Rockwell  Field, 
San  Diego.  Commissioned  First  Lieutenant,  January  9,  191 7.  Trained 
Camp  Dick,  Texas,  Fort  Sill,  Oklahoma,  and  Camp  Columbia,  South 
Carolina.  Sailed  for  France,  September  13,  1918.  Attached  278th  Aero 
Squadron.  Killed  in  accident,  April  7,  1919,  at  Toul.  Buried  American 
Cemetery,  Toul,  Meurthe-et-Moselle.  Body  transferred  to  Thiaucourt, 
Meurthe-et-Moselle. 


JERRY  THOMAS  ILLICH 

After  five  months  with  a  Field  Service  section  on  the 
Lorraine  front,  to  have  gone  back  to  the  United  States 
to  enter  the  aviation  branch  of  the  army,  to  have  trained 
in  various  parts  of  the  country  and  then  finally,  having 
returned  to  the  front  in  the  278th  Aero  Squadron  with 
prospects  of  immediate  active  service,  and  then  to  have 
lost  his  life  in  a  sudden  and  avoidable  accident  —  this 
was  the  tragic  misfortune  of  Jerry  Illich.  Nor  was  that 
all.  Adding  to  the  bitterness  of  the  tragedy,  two  other 
American  lives  were  needlessly  sacrificed  in  a  heart-' 
broken  effort  to  pay  homage  to  Illich. 

The  unfortunate  accident  at  Toul  is  described  by  II- 
lich's  sister,  as  follows : 

"On  April  7,  191 9,  Lieutenant  Illich  and  four  others 
were  walking  across  a  field  where  there  were  several 
hangars  and  planes  'warming  up.*  Suddenly  one 
started  to  take  off.  An  officer  about  forty  feet  in  front 
of  my  brother  saw  him,  ran,  and  yelled  a  warning  at  the 
same  time.  But  my  brother  turned  to  see  what  was 
coming  and  found  the  machine  so  close  that  he  threw 
himself  on  the  ground,  thinking  the  plane  would  rise 
above  him.  But  the  pilot  was  unable  to  do  this,  and 
the  plane's  wheel  hit  my  brother  between  the  shoulders, 
crushing  his  heart.     He  lived  only  a  few  minutes. 

"The  Lieutenant  in  the  plane  that  killed  my  brother 

was  beside  himself and  the  day  of  the  funeral, 

wanted  to  pay  a  final  tribute  by  showering  flowers  upon 
the  cortege.  While  doing  this  he  crashed  into  another 
machine,  above  the  grave,  and  the  two  came  down,  one 
in  flames,  the  other  a  total  wreck.  Both  pilots  were 
instantly  killed.  They  now  lie  beside  my  brother  in  the 
cemetery  at  Toul." 

Jerry  Illich's  devotion  to  duty  was  described  by  a 
friend  in  a  letter  written  when  the  former  first  vol- 
unteered for  service  in  France :  "Jerry  wishes  to  go  and 
serve  in  the  ambulance  unit,  knowing  that  such  adven- 

251 


JERRY  THOMAS  ILLICH 


ture  is  not  a  pleasure  trip  and  appreciating  full  well  the 
hard  work  which  will  follow.  He  goes  for  the  service  to 
mankind  which  he  can  render." 

He  tirst  sailed  for  France  in  December  of  191 5  to  join 
the  American  Ambulance  Field  Service,  and  was  sent 
with  Section  Three  to  Lorraine,  where  he  served  loyally 
and  efficiently  for  five  months. 

Returning  to  the  United  States,  Jerry  enlisted  in  the 
United  States  Air  Service  at  Chico,  California :  and 
entered  the  first  school  of  aviation  at  the  University  of 
California.  From  there  he  went  to  Rockwell  Field, 
where  he  was  commissioned  a  First  Lieutenant.  After 
training  at  Camp  Dick  and  Fort  Sill,  he  received  his 
sailing  orders  while  at  Camp  Columbia,  South  Carolina. 
He  sailed  from  New  York,  September  13,  191 8,  and,  the 
following  month,  joined  the  278th  Aero  Squadron  at 
Toul.  There  he  remained  until  the  time  of  his  death, 
April  7,  1919. 

In  the  little  American  cemetery  near  Toul,  last  resting 
place  of  many  American  aviators,  three  graves  side  by 
side  mark  the  place  where  lie  these  three  loyal  Ameri- 
cans overtaken  by  such  unforseen  misfortune.  There 
upon  his  grave  wreaths  were  kept  fresh  for  months  by 
comrades  who  carried  on  to  victory  the  fight  to  which 
Jerry  Illich  had  dedicated  his  life. 


252 


HAROLD  VINCENT  AUPPERLE 

Like  Kim,  "a  friend  to  all  the  world,"  —  that  was 
Harold  Vincent  Aupperle,  of  Section  Ten.  "Little  Aup," 
as  he  was  lovingly  called  by  his  pals,  gave  his  life  in  the 
service  of  humanity.  It  was  in  the  bleak  and  dingy 
little  town  of  Nova  Varosh,  Serbia,  that  he  fought  his 
last  battle  —  with  typhus.  Weary,  worn,  and  weak 
from  the  strain  of  unrelenting  service,  "Little  Aup"  lost. 

Aupperle  came  from  Grand  Junction,  Colorado,  where 
by  his  eighteenth  year  he  had  finished  school  and  had 
become  city  editor  of  a  crusading  daily  paper.  Three 
years  later  he  began  his  college  career  at  Stanford  Uni- 
versity, where  he  captained  a  winning  track  team  and 
became  a  leader  in  student  affairs.  Chancellor  David 
Starr  Jordan  took  Aupperle  as  private  secretary  on  a 
number  of  his  extended  tours. 

Aupperle's  story  is  not  one  of  spectacular  heroism. 
War's  choice  for  him  was  a  series  of  drudgeries,  monot- 
onous details,  and  steady  duties.  He  accepted  his  lot 
with  cheerful  endurance  and  whimsical  philosophy. 
When  death  took  him  all  unexpectedly,  Aupperle  was 
on  the  last  lap  of  a  wearing,  nerve-racking  job,  doing  his 
bit  long  after  he  might  have  been  repatriated,  had  he  so 
wished. 

Rejected  for  regular  war  service,  in  the  spring  of  191 7, 
as  underweight,  Aupperle  enlisted  in  the  Field  Service 
with  the  third  Stanford  unit.  On  reaching  Paris  he  was 
assigned  to  the  second  Stanford  Section,  just  starting 
for  the  Balkans.  There  he  served  with  the  French 
Armee  d' Orient  until  his  formation  was  recalled  to  France. 
When  the  Field  Service  was  militarized  Aupperle  was 
rejected  by  the  army  and  navy  and  as  a  last  resort  en- 
listed in  the  American  Red  Cross,  returning,  in  Decem- 
ber, 191 7,  to  the  unfortunate  Balkans. 

At  Salonica  Aupperle  had  charge  of  the  Red  Cross 
motor  transport  for  nearly  a  year.  Then  he  joined  the 
first  relief  expedition  for  Northern  Serbia.     He  was  in  a 

253 


HAROLD  VINCENT  AUPPERLE 


small  party  that  left  Salonica  early  in  December.  Two 
weeks  of  adventure  brought  the  expedition  to  Fiume. 
To  Aupperle  was  assigned  the  difficult  task  of  getting 
supplies  through  to  Belgrade.  He  took  the  first  relief 
to  the  Serbian  capital,  and  received  the  grateful  thanks 
of  its  people. 

In  April,  at  Belgrade,  Aupperle  suggested  that  he 
might  get  relief  to  certain  mountain  regions  along  the 
Bosnian  frontier  where  conditions  were  distressful. 
Transportation  was  the  principal  problem.  Aupperle 
was  given  this  strenuous  and  tremendous  undertaking 
and  eventually  was  able  to  lead  a  train  of  wagons  loaded 
with  miscellaneous  supplies  to  the  beleaguered  region. 

His  letters  tell  of  plodding  ox-cart  caravans,  and  of 
weary  treks  with  trains  of  pack  animals.  From  a  land 
of  desolation  he  wrote  letters  so  cheerful  that  they  were 
used  as  official  propaganda  to  counteract  lagging  en- 
thusiasm. Aupperle  was  just  completing  this  last  as- 
signment when  he  succumbed  to  the  malignant  typhus. 
A  letter  received  by  a  chum  in  the  same  service  two 
weeks  before  Aupperle's  death,  had  said,  "Another  week 
will  see  me  out  of  here  —  a  country  which  would  make 
Buddha  himself  lose  his  even  temperament.  Well, 
Pop,  pray  that  I  may  have  good  luck  and  finish  up 
quickly." 

"A  little  more  than  two  weeks  later,"  writes  this 
chum,  "on  the  hills  beside  the  Danube,  the  Prince's 
band  stopped  playing  for  a  moment  while  a  company  of 
Serbian  veterans  fired  a  salute  over  an  open  grave. 
Over  and  over  again  I  said,  *  Goodbye,  Little  Aup,'  as  I 
thought  in  turn  of  the  many  friends,  American,  French, 
British,  Greek,  Serbian,  Albanian,  and  Turkish,  that 
loved  him,  too." 


254 


HAROLD  VINCENT  AUPPERLE 

Born  August  9,  1892,  in  Sioux  City,  Iowa.  Son  of  D.  W.  and  Nancy  Oilman 
Aupperle.  Home,  Grand  Junction,  Colorado.  Educated  Grand  Junction 
High  School  and  Leland  Stanford  University,  Class  of  191 7.  Joined  Ameri- 
can Field  Service,  June  25,  191 7;  attached  Section  Ten  in  the  Balkans  to 
November  18,  191 7.  Rejected  by  U.  S.  Army  and  Navy.  Enlisted  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross.  To  Salonica  and  Belgrade.  Serbian  Order  of  the  White 
Eagle.  Died  June  14,  1919,  of  typhus  at  Nova  Varosh,  Serbia.  Buried 
Belgrade,  Serbia.  Body  transferred  to  Masonic  Cemetery,  Grand  Junction,, 
Colorado. 


^J^mes  and  'burial  l^laces 

of  Field  Service  <J)fCen 

who  died  in  the  War 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX 

With  Places  of  Burial 

Anderson,  Charles  Patrick 155 

American  Cemetery,  Thiaucourt,  Meurthe-et- Moselle. 
AuppERLE,  Harold  Vincent 253 

Masonic  Cemetery,  Grand  Junction,  Colorado. 
AvARD,  Percy  Leo 65 

Calvary  Cemetery,  Long  Island,  New  York, 
Bacon,  Charles 207 

Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 
Baer,  Carlos  Willard 69 

Oxford,  Ohio. 
Bailey,  Kenneth  Armour       185 

American  Cemetery,  Thiaucourt,  Meurthe-et- Moselle. 
Balbiani,  Roger  Marie  Louis 95 

Paris,  Seine. 

Banks,  Richard  Varian 215 

Cimetiere  du  Sud,  Nancy,  Meurthe-et-Moselle. 
Barclay,  Leif  Norman 17 

Chaux,    Territoire  de  Belfort.      {Probably  ultimately  American 
Cemetery,  Belleau  Wood,  Aisne.) 
Barker,  Robert  Harris 131 

American  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine.    {To  be  transferred  to  Fern 
Hill  Cemetery,  Hanson,  Massachusetts.) 
Baylies,  Frank  Leaman 105 

Courcelles-Epayelles,  Oise. 
Beane,  James  Dudley 217 

American  Cemetery,  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 
Benney,  Philip  Phillips 57 

Glorieux,  Meuse. 
Benson,  Merrill  Manning 197 

Sterling,  Illinois. 
Bentley,  Paul  Cody       35 

Seringes-et-Nesles,  Aisne. 
BiGELOw,  Donald  Asa 99 

American  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine.     {To  be  transferred  to  Lin- 
wood  Cemetery,  Colchester,  Connecticut.) 
Bliss,  Addison  Leech 9 

Peabody  Cemetery,   Springfield,   Massachusetts. 
Blodgett,  Richard  Ashley 85 

American  Cemetery,   Thiaucourt,  Meurthe-et-Moselle. 
Bluethenthal,  Arthur loi 

Wilmington,  North  Carolina. 
Boyer,  Wilbur  LeRoy 199 

National  Cemetery,  Arlington,  Virginia. 
Brickley,  Arthur  Joseph 223 

Ploisy,  Aisne.     {Ultimately  to  be  returned  to  America.) 
Brown,  James  Snodgrass 241 

New  Rochelle,  New  York. 
Brown,  Stafford  Leighton 171 

American  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine. 
Bruce,  Alexander  Bern 135 

American  Cemetery,  Fismes,  Marne. 


Buckler,  Leon  Hamlink 163 

Urbes,  A  Isace.    ( To  be  transferred  to  Mount  Hope  Cemetery,  Roches- 
ter, New  York.) 
Burr,  Carleton 119 

Unknown. 
Burton,  Benjamin  Howell,  Jr 157 

American  Cemetery,  Tout,  Meurthe-et- Moselle.     {To  be  transferred 
to  Willows,  Glenn  County,  California.) 
Carkener,  Stuart,  2D 123 

Belleau  Cemetery.     (To  be  transferred  to  Forest  Hill  Cemetery,  Kan- 
sas City,  Missouri.) 
Clark,  Coleman  Tileston 93 

Ambleny,  Aisne  (west  of  Soissons). 
Clover,  Greayer 143 

Issoudun,  Indre. 
CoNOVER,  Richard  Stevens,  2D 91 

American  Cemetery,  Villers-Tournelles,  Somme. 
Craig,  Harmon  Bushnell 27 

Ville-sur-Cousances,  Meuse. 
Craig,  Harry  Worthington     139 

American  Cemetery,  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 

CULBERTSON,   TiNGLE  WOODS 179 

American  Cemetery,  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 
CuMiNGS,  Henry  Harrison,  3D 41 

Body  never  recovered. 
Davison,  Alden 49 

Kensico  Cemetery,  New  York. 
Dix,  Roger  Sherman,  Jr 79 

Le  Crotoy,  Somme. 
Donahue,  Leon  Henton 191 

Gloucester,  Massachusetts. 
DowD,  Meredith  Loveland      213 

American   Cemetery,  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 
Dresser,  George  Eaton 169 

Vauquois  Woods,  Meuse  (south  of  Varennes). 
Dresser,  Stephen  Raymond 237 

American  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine. 
Du  Bouchet,  Charles  Vivian 77 

Paris,  Seine. 
Edwards,  George  Lane,  Jr 209 

Guignicourt,  Aisne. 
Elliott,  William  Armstrong 14S 

American  Naval  Cemetery,  Pauillac,  Gironde. 
Ellis,  Clayton  Carey 129 

Longley  Cemetery,  Sidney,  Maine. 
Emerson,  William  Key  Bond,  Jr 83 

American  Cemetery,  Vignot,  Meuse.     (North  of  Commercy.) 
Fales,  Hugo  Wing 245 

Bourges,  Cher. 
Ferguson,  Danforth  Brooks 201 

American  Cemetery,  France. 
FisKE,  Charles  Henry,  3D 141 

American  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine. 
Forbush,  Frederic  Moore 183 

Cremated  at  Detroit,  Michigan. 


FoRMAN,  Horace  Baker,  3D 151 

American  Cemetery,  Issoudun,  Indre. 
Fowler,  Eric  Anderson 45 

Pau,  Basses  Pyrenees. 
Freeborn,  Charles  James 231 

Mountain  View  Cemetery,  Oakland,  California. 
Frutiger,  Theodore  Raymond 75 

Mount  Pleasant  Cemetery,  Morris,  Pennsylvania. 
Gailey,  James  Wilson 29 

Beaurieux,  Aisne. 
GiLMORE,  Albert  Frank 175 

Winthrop,  Maine. 
GiROUX,  Ernest  Armand 87 

Estaires,  Nord  {north-east  of  Bethune). 
Glorieux,  Gilbert  Robertson 195 

Clinton  Cemetery,  Irvington,  New  Jersey. 
Goodwin,  George  Waite 113 

Rural  Cemetery,  Albany,  New  York. 
Graham,  John  Ralston      117 

West  Laurel  Hill  Cemetery,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 
Hagan,  William  Becker 81 

Brookline,  Massachusetts. 
Hall,  Richard  Nelville       i 

Moosch,  Alsace. 
Hamilton,  Perley  Raymond 31 

Beaurieux,  Aisne.     (To  be  transferred  to   Woodlawn   Cemetery, 
Clinton,  Massachusetts.) 
Hannah,  Fred  A 161 

Souilly,  Meuse.     {To  be  transferred  to  Dunmore  Cemetery,  Scran- 
ton,  Pennsylvania. 
Harrison,  Waller  Lisle,  Jr 177 

American  Cemetery,  Issoudun,  Indre. 
Hathaway,  Edward  Trafton 107 

American     Cemetery,     Thiaucourt,     Meurthe-et- Moselle.     {Ulti- 
mately to  be  transferred  to   National   Cemetery,  Arlington, 
Virginia.) 
Hill,  Stanley 133 

La  Veuve,  Marne. 
HoBBS,  Warren  Tucker 109 

British  Military  Cemetery,  Poperinghe,  West  Flanders,  Belgium. 
HoLBROOK,  Newberry      . 61 

Essey-les- Nancy,  Meurthe-et-Moselle.  {To  be  transferred  to  Wood- 
lawn  Cemetery,  New  York.) 
HoLLisTER,  George  Merrick 193 

American  Cemetery,  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 
Hopkins,  Charles  Alexander 59 

Fair  mount  Cemetery,  Newark,  New  Jersey. 
Hopkins,  Frank,  Jr , 249 

Saint  Agnes  Cemetery,  Syracuse,  New  York. 
Houston,  Henry  Howard,  2D 137 

Suresnes,  Seine. 
Humason,  Howard  Crosby 203 

New  Canaan,  Connecticut. 


Illich,  Jerry  Thomas     251 

American  Cemetery,  Thiaucourt,  Meurthe-et- Moselle. 
JoPLiNG,  Richard  Mather 235 

Brockwood  Cemetery,  Surrey,  England. 
Kelley,  Edward  Joseph 3 

Blercourt,  Meuse. 
Kendall,  Charles  Benjamin 233 

Mount  Auburn  Cemetery,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 
Kent,  Warren  Thompson 149 

American  Cemetery,  Thiaucourt,  Meurthe-et- Moselle. 
KiMBER,  Arthur  Clifford 165 

Body  as  yet  unrecovered. 
King,  Gerald  Colman 39 

Grace  Church  Cemetery,  Jamaica,  Long  Island,  New  York. 
Kurtz,  Paul  Borda 89 

American  Cemetery,  Thiaucourt,  Meurthe-et- Moselle. 
Leach,  Ernest  Hunnewell 53 

Issoudun,  Indre. 
Lee,  Schuyler 71 

Grave  never  found. 
Lewis,  Stevenson  Paul 219 

American  Cemetery,  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse.     (To  be 
transferred  to  Lakeview  Cemetery,  Cleveland,  Ohio.) 
Lindsley,  Paul  Warren 181 

American  Cemetery,  Issoudun,  Indre. 
Lines,  Howard  Burchard 7 

American  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine. 
Mackenzie,  Gordon  Kenneth      103 

Sleepy  Hollow  Cemetery,  Concord,  Massachusetts. 
MacMonagle,  Douglas       37 

American  Cemetery,  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 
McConnell,  James  Rogers 11 

Petit-Detroit,  Aisne. 
Meacham,  Robert  Douglas 47 

Spring  Grove  Cemetery,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
Miller,  Walter  Bernard 127 

North  of  Chateau-Thierry,  Aisne. 
Myers,  Arthur      23 

Greenwood  Cemetery,  New  York. 
Newlin,  John  Verplanck 33 

American  Cemetery,  Romagne-sous-Montfaucon,  Meuse. 
Nichols,  Alan  Hammond 97 

American  Cemetery,  Ploisy,  Aisne. 
Norton,  George  Frederick 25 

Moravian  Cemetery,  New  Dorp,  Staten  Island,  New  York. 
OsBORN,  Paul  Gannett 21 

Hopital  Farman,  near  Mourmelon-le-Grand,  Champagne. 
Palmer,  Henry  Brewster 43 

Pau,  Basses  Pyrenees. 
Porter,  Albert  Augustus 15 

Oakwood  Cemetery,  Niagara  Falls,  New  York. 
Potter,  William  Clarkson 189 

American  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine. 
Rhinelander,  Philip  Newbold 167 

Murville,  Meurthe-et- Moselle  {southeast  of  Longuyon). 

260 


Robertson,  Malcolm  Troop     125 

American  Cemetery,  Seringes-et-Nesles,  Aisne.     {To  he  transferred 
to  American  Cemetery,  Belleau  Wood.) 
Rogers,  Randolph       115 

American  Cemetery,  Fere-en-Tardenois,  Aisne, 
Root,  George  Welles 227 

Magdalen  Hill  Cemetery,  Winchester,  England. 
Sambrook,  Walter  Laidlaw 147 

American  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine. 
Sargeant,  Grandville  LeMoyne 73 

Beaver,  Pennsylvania. 
Sayre,  Harold  Holden      153 

American  Cemetery,  Thiaucourt,  Meurthe-et- Moselle.     (Ultimately 
to  be  buried  in  Hollywood,  California. 
Sortwell,  Edward  Carter 5 

Mount  Auburn  Cemetery,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 
Stewart,  Gordon 51 

Tours,  Indre-et-Loire. 
SucKLEY,  Henry  Eglinton  Montgomery 13 

Koritza,  Albania. 
Taber,  Arthur  Richmond .     229 

American  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine. 
Tabler,  Kramer  Core 247 

Colombey-les-Belles,  Meurthe-et- Moselle. 
Taylor,  William  Henry,  Jr i5q 

American  Cemetery,  Thiaucourt,  Meurthe-et- Moselle 
Tinkham,  Edward  Ilsley 239 

Ravenna,  Italy  (ashes  in  the  Muro  Perpetuo  of  the  cemetery). 
TuTEiN,  Chester  Robinson 221 

Souilly,  Meuse. 
Tyson,  Stuart  Mitchell  Stephen 121 

A  merican  Cemetery  in  France. 
Wallace,  William  Noble 187 

Crawfordsville,  Indiana. 
Ward,  Galbraith 225 

Chdteau  Vilain,  Haute- Marne. 
Ware,  Edward  Newell,  Jr 243 

Military  Cemetery,  Bucharest,  Roumania. 
Warner,  Goodwin 11 1 

American  Cemetery,  Suresnes,  Seine. 
Watkins,  Osric  Mills 205 

Bar-le-Duc,    Meuse.      (To    be   transferred   to    Crown    Hill 
Cemetery,  Indianapolis,  Indiana.) 
Westcott,  John  Howell,  Jr 173 

Bony,  Aisne  (south  of  Le  Catelet). 
Whyte,  William  Jewell 63 

Bordeaux,  Gironde. 
Winsor,  Philip      211 

Bussang,  Vosges. 

Woodward,  Henry  Howard  Houston 67 

South  of  Montdidier,  Somme. 
Wood  worth,  Benjamin  Russell      19 

Chdlons-sur-  Vesle,  Marne. 
Wright,  Jack  Morris     55 

Issoudun,  Indre. 

261 


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BOSTON,  MASS. 


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